Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01178 (oxytocin)
 15,767 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Colocalization of thyrotropin-releasing hormone-like immunoreactivity with other neuroactive substances was examined immunohistochemically in colchicine-treated rat brains using double-staining or elution-restaining methods. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone-like immunoreactivity was shown to be located in the same neurons as: 1. enkephalin-, gamma-amino butyric acid- and tyrosine hydroxylase-, but not somatostatin-like immunoreactivity in the glomerular layer of the olfactory bulb 2. oxytocin- and cholecystokinin-, but not vasopressin-like immunoreactivity in the supraoptic nucleus 3. cholecystokinin-like immunoreactivity in posterior pituitary 4. enkephalin-like immunoreactivity in the perifornical area of the hypothalamus and 5. neuropeptide Y- and neurotensin-like immunoreactivity in the periaqueductal central grey. These findings provide further examples of coexistence of thyrotropin-releasing hormone with classical neurotransmitters and/or peptides in the rat central nervous system.
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PMID:Coexistence of TRH with other neuroactive substances in the rat central nervous system. 315 46

Rat pituitary neural lobe contained high concentrations of cholecystokinin-like immunoreactivity (CCK-LI). Section of the pituitary stalk resulted in loss of CCK-LI, and both lactation and replacement of drinking water with 2% saline resulted in marked depletion of CCK-LI. Rats with congenital diabetes insipidus (Brattleboro strain) had a 73% reduction in CCK-LI below the levels of hooded Long-Evans controls, where as levels in the brain were unchanged. Release of CCK-LI, labeled dopamine, and gamma-amino butyric acid in response to potassium depolarization was studied. There was a low fractional release of CCK-LI. Addition of sulfated CCK-8 (CCK-8s) to the medium enhanced the calcium-dependent potassium-stimulated release of dopamine, but basal release was unaffected. gamma-Amino butyric acid release was only poorly calcium dependent and not effected by extracellular CCK-8s. Vasopressin and oxytocin release were stimulated by electrical stimulation of the pituitary stalk, and were unaffected by the addition of CCK-8s to the medium. In vivo, however, the injection of 5 micrograms CCK-8s into the third ventricle resulted in increased plasma vasopressin concentrations.
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PMID:Localization and actions of cholecystokinin in the rat pituitary neurointermediate lobe. 632 36

The adult oxytocinergic system undergoes extensive synaptic and neuronal-glial remodelling in response to differing conditions of secretion and has become a remarkable example of activity-dependent structural plasticity in the adult mammalian brain. Under stimulation (parturition, lactation, chronic dehydration), glial coverage of oxytocin neurons is significantly reduced and their surfaces become extensively juxtaposed; concurrently, they are contacted by an increased number of synapses. These changes are reversible with cessation of stimulation. We here present observations showing that putative inhibitory and excitatory afferents contribute to this synaptic plasticity. The data are derived from several different comparative analyses of ultrathin sections of the rat supraoptic nucleus (SON) in which presynaptic (gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) or glutamate) and postsynaptic (oxytocin or vasopressin) partners were identified with postembedding immunogold staining. We thus found that in virgin rats, under basal conditions of oxytocin release, 30-40% of synapses on oxytocinergic or vasopressinergic somata in the SON are GABAergic and about 20% glutamatergic. On the other hand, in lactating rats, in which oxytocin secretion is greatly enhanced, there was an increase in the incidence of both types of synapses, and in particular, on those impinging on oxytocinergic somata.
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PMID:Physiologically-linked structural plasticity of inhibitory and excitatory synaptic inputs to oxytocin neurons. 871 61

The subcommissural organ (SCO) of mammals is innervated by several neuropeptide and neurotransmitter systems. So far, substance P (SP), oxytocin (OXT), vasopressin (VP), somatostatin (SOM), thyrotropin-releasing factor (TRF), and angiotensin II (ANGII) were identified in neuropeptidergic input systems, and serotonin (5HT), gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (DA), and acetylcholine (Ach) were neurotransmitters observed in systems afferent to the SCO. In the present report, based on literature data and our own investigations, we describe the occurrence of peptide and transmitter receptors in the SCO by means of autoradiographic and biochemical studies. Further, we summarize aspects of the signal transduction cascades possibly linked to different receptor types of the SCO; these studies included the use of calcium imaging (FURA-2 technique), ELISA technique, and immunocytochemistry. Receptors were identified for adenosine, angiotensin II, imidazoline, glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, NA, and embryonic brain kinase. The studies on intracellular signal-transduction indicated receptors for tachykinins and for ATP. In SCO cells, Ca(++) and c-AMP were identified to act as second messengers. As important transcription factor, cAMP-/Ca(++)-response element binding protein (CREB) was observed. Ach and NA did not show a significant effect on the subcommissural signal transduction.
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PMID:Presence and functional significance of neuropeptide and neurotransmitter receptors in subcommissural organ cells. 1124 63

The central and systemic release of oxytocin (OT) has been well documented during parturition and lactation. In preparation for the demands of these events, the magnocellular hypothalamic neurons of the central OT system undergo a variety of biochemical, molecular, electrophysiological, and anatomical adaptations during gestation. However, the mechanisms responsible for these changes have not been well established. A number of neurochemical mediators have been implicated in contributing to the plasticity in the OT magnocellular system during gestation, including ovarian hormones, as well as central neurotransmitters, such as glutamate, gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), and central neurosteroids, e.g., allopregnanolone. In addition, several lines of evidence suggest that central OT release and subsequent OT receptor stimulation may contribute to adaptations of the OT system during gestation, and may be necessary for its subsequent functioning during lactation. Here, we review evidence for involvement of the neurochemical systems implicated in contributing to adaptations that occur in the OT system during the course of gestation.
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PMID:Neurochemical bases of plasticity in the magnocellular oxytocin system during gestation. 1615 32

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common condition for which existing treatments are ineffective for many patients. Recent discoveries in the neurobiology of learning and memory, along with expanding knowledge of how those systems are impacted by the biology of the stress response, have opened new arenas for potential medication treatments for PTSD. We conducted a review of registered clinical trials investigating the efficacy of new agents for PTSD. The glucocoritcoid and adrenergic signaling systems are the most frequent targets of these investigational approaches to the prevention and treatment of PTSD. Additional trials are evaluating modulation of other CNS targets, including neurosteroids, glutamate, gamma-amino butyric acid, endocannabinoids, oxytocin, neurokinin/Substance P, and dopamine. A particularly exciting area of research is studies examining Medication-Enhanced Psychotherapy (MEP). Medications provided before or after exposure therapy for PTSD can enhance outcomes by: 1) strengthening learning and memory of fear extinction; 2) disrupting reconsolidation, thereby weakening fear memories; or 3) facilitating engagement in psychotherapy by reducing fear and enhancing openness to experience. The next few years promise to produce insight into the neurobiology and clinical efficacy of several novel approaches in the pharmacologic treatment and prevention of PTSD.
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PMID:Pharmacological innovations for posttraumatic stress disorder and medication- enhanced psychotherapy. 2263 69

Oxytocin is a central neuromodulator required for facilitating mate preferences for familiar individuals in a monogamous rodent (prairie vole), irrespective of sex. While the role of oxytocin in mate choice is only understood in a few monogamous species, its function in nonmonogamous species, comprising the vast majority of vertebrate species, remains unclear. To address this issue, we evaluated the involvement of an oxytocin homolog (isotocin, referred herein as oxt) in mate choice in medaka fish (Oryzias latipes). Female medaka prefer to choose familiar mates, whereas male medaka court indiscriminately, irrespective of familiarity. We generated mutants of the oxt ligand (oxt) and receptor genes (oxtr1 and oxtr2) and revealed that the oxt-oxtr1 signaling pathway was essential for eliciting female mate preference for familiar males. This pathway was also required for unrestricted and indiscriminate mating strategy in males. That is, either oxt or oxtr1 mutation in males decreased the number of courtship displays toward novel females, but not toward familiar females. Further, males with these mutations exhibited enhanced mate-guarding behaviors toward familiar females, but not toward novel females. In addition, RNA-sequencing (seq) analysis revealed that the transcription of genes involved in gamma-amino butyric acid metabolism as well as those encoding ion-transport ATPase are up-regulated in both oxt and oxtr1 mutants only in female medaka, potentially explaining the sex difference of the mutant phenotype. Our findings provide genetic evidence that oxt-oxtr1 signaling plays a role in the mate choice for familiar individuals in a sex-specific manner in medaka fish.
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PMID:Sexually dimorphic role of oxytocin in medaka mate choice. 3207 Dec 44