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Query: UNIPROT:P01178 (oxytocin)
 15,767 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The neuroendocrine and neurochemical events which occur in the brain in the context of maternal behaviour fall into two main categories: 1) Those which simultaneously address wide areas of the brain and lack any specific "coding" for maternal behaviour but are nevertheless essential for it to occur. The steroid hormones and rostrally projecting catecholamine systems fall into this category. The steroid hormones may be viewed as primers, but not just for maternal behaviour, while the amines, specifically noradrenaline, act to synchronise a variety of neural systems associated with maternal behaviour. These include the activation of neuroendocrine mechanisms important for the peripheral changes associated with maternal behaviour, an interaction with the oxytocin and beta-endorphin peptidergic systems which are the specific addressing systems, and enhancement of sensory signals and learning contingent upon parturition. Indeed, parturition is the physiological event which activates the noradrenergic system in the context of maternal behaviour. 2) Those which address restricted areas of the brain and may be viewed as specific to maternal behaviour. Their action is dependent on estrogen priming and the noradrenergic synchronisation of other neural events in order for complete maternal behaviour to ensue. The oxytocinergic and beta-endorphin peptidergic systems fall into this category, promoting maternal behaviour and the neural reinforcement associated with this. In order to ensure specificity, these peptidergic systems may be inhibitory to potentially competing behaviours such as sexual behaviour and the reproductive neuroendocrine response associated with it. Although not discussed in this review, the nigrostriatal dopamine projection may be considered both specific, in that it relates only to motor events, and non-specific, in that this relationship exists in all behavioural contexts. Finally, as maternal behaviour progresses, other parts of the brain are called upon to coordinate the different behaviours that become associated with maternalism and ensure protection and feeding of the offspring. The suckling stimulus appears to be important for activating these neural systems by way of the peripeduncular nucleus.
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PMID:Central mechanisms underlying the neural and neuroendocrine determinants of maternal behaviour. 289 99

To investigate catecholamine regulation of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and vasopressin (VP) release, the relationship of alpha-adrenergic receptor-binding sites to corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and VP-containing cell populations within the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus was studied. Immunohistochemistry for CRF and neurophysin-vasopressin (NP-VP) was combined with receptor autoradiography. The adrenergic antagonist [3H]-prazosin was used to visualize alpha-1-binding sites and the agonist [3H]-p-aminoclonidine to visualize alpha-2-binding sites. To determine if changes in adrenergic binding accompanied experimentally induced increased activity of CRF- and VP-containing neurons, adrenalectomy was used as a stimulus for CRF release and dehydration as a stimulus for VP release. Quantitative assessment of autoradiograms revealed a greater density of alpha-1- and alpha-2-binding sites over the medial, parvocellular, CRF-containing region of PVN as compared to the lateral, magnocellular, NP-VP-containing region of the nucleus in all animal groups. Following 10 days of dehydration, the density of alpha-1- and alpha-2-binding sites associated with the CRF- and NP-VP-containing regions of PVN decreased. At 14 days postadrenalectomy the density of alpha-2-binding sites associated with CRF- and NP-VP-containing regions of the nucleus decreased, but the density of alpha-1-binding sites was unchanged. Results of this study support the hypothesis that epinephrine and/or norepinephrine regulate the release of ACTH and vasopressin via alpha-1- and alpha-2-adrenergic receptors associated with CRF- and VP-containing somata within the PVN.
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PMID:Relationship of alpha-1- and alpha-2-adrenergic-binding sites to regions of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus containing corticotropin-releasing factor and vasopressin neurons. 289 48

The hypothalamus provides a major projection to the spinal cord that innervates primarily lamina I of the dorsal horn and the sympathetic and parasympathetic preganglionic cell columns. We have examined the chemical organization of the neurons that contribute to this pathway by using combined retrograde transport of fluorescent dyes and immunohistochemistry for 15 different putative neurotransmitters or their synthetic enzymes. Our results demonstrate that 5 cytoarchitectonically distinct cell groups in the hypothalamus contribute to the spinal projection and that each has its own predominant chemical types. In the paraventricular nucleus, substantial numbers of hypothalamo-spinal neurons stain with antisera against arginine vasopressin (25-35%), oxytocin (20-25%), and met-enkephalin (10%). About 25% of the neurons with spinal projections in the retrochiasmatic area stain with an antiserum against alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone. Nearly 100% of the hypothalamo-spinal neurons in the tuberal lateral hypothalamic area stain with this same antiserum, but these cells do not stain for other proopiomelanocortin-derived peptides, and so probably contain a cross-reacting peptide. This population must be distinguished from an adjacent cell group, in the perifornical region, where many spinal projection neurons stain with antisera against dynorphin (25%) or atrial natriuretic peptide (20%). Finally, in the dorsal hypothalamic area as many as 55-75% of the neurons with spinal projections are dopaminergic, on the basis of their staining with an antiserum against tyrosine hydroxylase. These 5 neurochemically distinct projections from the hypothalamus to the spinal cord are discussed in the context of their possible functional significance.
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PMID:Neurochemical organization of the hypothalamic projection to the spinal cord in the rat. 290 38

1. The changes in FMRFamide (Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-NH2) immunoreactivity in response to incubation in dopamine, serotonin, met-enkephalin, oxytocin, arg-vasopressin and FMRFamide were examined in the central nervous system of the snail, Achatina fulica. 2. When the central nervous system was cultured in medium which contained dopamine and in medium which contained serotonin, the number of immunoreactive neurons increased in the anterior part of the cerebral ganglion and decreased in the sub-esophageal ganglion. 3. When arg-vasopressin was added to the culture medium, the number of immunoreactive neurons increased in the pedal ganglion and decreased in the other sub-esophageal ganglion. 4. By contrast, when the central nervous system was cultured in medium which contained oxytocin, the number of immunoreactive neurons did not increase, but rather decreased, in each ganglion. 5. No changes in immunoreactivity were detected in the central nervous system when it was cultured in medium which contained FMRFamide. 6. It appears, from these results, that the production and release of FMRFamide from different neurons are differentially affected by the physiologically active substances tested.
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PMID:Dynamics of FMRFamide immunoreactivity in response to physiologically active substances in the central nervous system of the snail, Achatina fulica. 290 40

We studied five cases of central nervous system neuronal tumor, one gangliocytoma and four gangliogliomas, both ultrastructurally and immunohistochemically, using antibodies to neuroendocrine markers including tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), serotonin (5HT), somatostatin (SOM), met-enkephalin (MEK), leu-enkephalin (LEK), substance P (SP), gastrin, vasopressin, oxytocin, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, adrenocorticotropic hormone and calcitonin. In all cases, the presence of dense-core vesicles (60-250 nm) in the neuronal elements was the characteristic ultrastructural finding. Synapses were observed in two cases. Immunohistochemically, variable numbers of neuronal cells showed positive staining for SOM in five cases, TH, MEK and LEK in three cases, and 5HT and SP in one case each. The others were negative. Positive immunoreactivity for multiple markers was shown in all cases. SOM, TH, 5HT and SP were present in the small- to medium-sized cells, while MEK and LEK were almost exclusively confined to the large cells. Our study clearly indicated that these tumors contained neuronal cells which were not homogeneous with regard to neuroendocrine markers.
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PMID:Neuroendocrine markers in central nervous system neuronal tumors (gangliocytoma and ganglioglioma). 292 88

Two cases of hypothalamic hamartoma are presented. The first patient was a 4-year-old boy with precocious puberty, and the second was a 6-year-old boy with epileptic seizures. In both patients, clinical symptoms and signs appeared at the age of 2 years and progressed thereafter. Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in both cases disclosed a suprasellar mass lesion in continuity with the hypothalamus. Removal of the lesions affected the endocrinological status and/or seizure control. Pathological examination revealed the lesions to be composed of well-differentiated neuronal and glial cells. Immunohistochemical study demonstrated the presence of beta-endorphin, corticotropin-releasing factor, oxytocin, and neurofilament protein (210 kD) in the neuronal cells of the first patient, but no neuropeptides were detected in the second. Electron microscopic examination on the second patient disclosed the presence of many nonmyelinated and some myelinated neuronal processes containing dense-core and clear vesicles. The morphological characteristics and the role of surgery for this lesion are discussed.
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PMID:Hypothalamic hamartoma. Report of two cases. 292 5

Oxytocin (OXY) administered intracisternally to adult male mice produced a significant dose-related (1-4 micrograms) increase in colonic temperatures at an ambient temperature of 25 degrees C. The maximal rise in temperature occurred 30 min after administration of the peptide. The interactive effects on colonic temperature of central OXY with equimolar amounts of neurotensin, bombesin or beta-endorphin or of 2 2 mg/kg of chlorpromazine were investigated. OXY significantly antagonized the hypothermia produced by all of these substances. Pretreatment of mice with haloperidol or naloxone failed to prevent OXY-induced hyperthermia. The hyperthermic action of OXY and the interactive effects of OXY with other peptides on thermoregulation may be physiologically significant during parturition and lactation.
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PMID:Interactive effects of intracisternal oxytocin and other centrally active substances on colonic temperatures of mice. 294 25

We have developed and validated a push-pull technique that allows focal perfusion of the ovary in unanesthetized freely moving rats. We have used this method to investigate the intraovarian secretion of catecholamines (dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine), oxytocin, beta-endorphin and gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA) during the estrous cycle. Cycling animals were implanted with ovarian push-pull catheters and jugular vein catheters under ether anaesthesia on proestrus, estrus and diestrous Day 2. This procedure did not disrupt normal preovulatory release of prolactin and luteinizing hormone (LH). Thus, perfusion of the ovary and simultaneous monitoring of hormone levels in systemic blood in freely moving rats allow correlation of the temporal relationship of ovarian events with cyclic gonadotropin secretion. The results clearly indicate that a rise in ovarian norepinephrine occurs concomitant with the preovulatory surge in prolactin and LH. Ovarian beta-endorphin concentrations exhibit cyclic changes, whereas GABA release rates remain stable throughout the cycle. Oxytocin is secreted by ovarian tissue, and the secretion rate appears to be inversely related to prolactin. In view of the proposed involvement of ovarian nerves and particularly catecholamines in the process of follicular maturation and ovulation, our findings suggest a preovulatory activation of ovarian noradrenergic sympathetic neurons.
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PMID:Intraovarian secretion of catecholamines, oxytocin, beta-endorphin, and gamma-amino-butyric-acid in freely moving rats: development of a push-pull tubing method. 294 38

The repeated administration of beta-endorphin to mice resulted in the development of tolerance to the analgesic effect of the opioid peptide. While SC injections of oxytocin failed to modify the magnitude or the duration of the analgesic effect of a single intracerebroventricular (ICV) beta-endorphin injection, the development of tolerance to beta-endorphin was antagonized by SC and ICV oxytocin treatment. Since both oxytocin and beta-endorphin are endogenous peptides in the brain, the data raise the possibility that endogenous oxytocin might be involved in the sensitivity of the central nervous system towards repeated or prolonged opioid stimulation.
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PMID:Beta-endorphin tolerance is inhibited by oxytocin. 295 44

In order to find out whether arterial and venous cord levels of vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) might be linked to one or more obstetric parameters and to beta-endorphin (BEP) secretion, 42 successively delivered neonates were studied. Arterial and venous cord blood levels of these peptides were not statistically different whenever the neonates were born vaginally with or without foetal distress, after induction of labour by oxytocic drugs, or by elective caesarean section. BEP levels in cord and maternal blood do not seem to be linked with AVP or OT. The results of the group of infants born after uncomplicated vaginal delivery analyzed with regard to obstetric parameters, led to the following conclusions: arterial cord VP correlated with venous cord VP, with arterial cord OT and with the duration of membrane rupture; arterial cord OT correlated with venous cord OT and with the time taken by the cervix to dilate from 5 to 10 cm, suggesting that the foetal pituitary gland is sensitive to the evolution of labour.
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PMID:Vasopressin and oxytocin levels in human neonates. Relationships with the evolution of labour and beta-endorphins. 295 62


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