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

The chemical organization of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (NPV) of the sheep was studied immunocytochemically by using antisera raised against oxytocin (OXY), ovine corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), somatostatin (SRIF), neurotensin (NT) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP). Examination of immunocytochemically stained frozen, 30-40 microns thick, and paraffin serial, 6 microns thick, sections has shown that chemically specified subsets of neurons are not strictly demarcated anatomically and that OXY and SRIF or CRF and VIP are jointly expressed by certain subpopulations of neurons which are different from that producing both OXY and CRF.
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PMID:Coexistence of neuropeptides in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus of the sheep. 225 93

The pattern of excessive grooming displayed by rats treated with vasopressin and oxytocin was investigated by calculating the frequencies and contribution of the behavioural elements head washing, body grooming, anogenital grooming, paw licking and scratching. In addition, the suppressive effect on peptide-induced grooming of the dopamine D1 receptor antagonist SCH 23390, of neurotensin and of the opiate receptor antagonists naloxone and naloxone-methobromide was studied. The pattern of excessive grooming induced by vasopressin and by oxytocin was characterized by the contribution of most behavioural elements to the total grooming scores. Oxytocin-induced excessive grooming was characterized by a marked increase in the frequency of anogenital grooming. SCH 23390, neurotensin and naloxone, but not naloxone-methobromide, suppressed excessive grooming induced by vasopressin and oxytocin. It is suggested that dopamine D1 receptors as well as opiate receptors located within the blood-brain barrier are involved in the excessive grooming induced by neurhypophyseal hormones.
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PMID:Neurohypophyseal hormones and excessive grooming behaviour. 227 47

The paraventricular nucleus (PVH) of the hypothalamus is a key region for the integration of the autonomic and neuroendocrine mechanisms. This integration becomes less reliable with age. Some critical functions, such as eating and drinking, body-temperature regulation, autonomic and endocrine responses which regulate the cardiovascular system seem to be particularly affected by the aging-related processes. In this paper, we analysed by means of immunocytochemistry the neurochemical organization of the magnocellular and parvocellular component of the PVH in old male rats. The main results concerning the neurohormones and the carrier proteins are the following: a significant decrease in the number of the oxytocin- (OXY) like immunoreactive neurons of the medial and lateral parvocellular nuclei; a decrease in the vasopressin- (VAS) like immunoreactive neurons of the medial and lateral parvocellular nuclei and also of the medial magnocellular nucleus; a decrease in the neurophysin- (NRP) like immunoreactive neurons of the lateral parvocellular nucleus. We also found a decrease in the mean area of magnocellular OXY- and VAS-like immunoreactive neurons, a decrease in the extension of the dendritic tree sampled in the medial part of the nucleus; a decrease in the number of varicosities along the neurons coming from the PVH, and in the density of axons in the median eminence and in the vagal complex. The NRP-like immunoreactive structures in the substantia gelatinosa of the spinal cord of old rats were also decreased in respect to younger adult animals. Among the neuropeptides investigated (corticotropin-releasing factor, leu-enkephalin, somatostatin, cholecystokinin and neurotensin) we found a decrease in the leu-enkephalin-like immunoreactive neurons of the dorsal and medial parvocellular nuclei. Our data support--from a morphological point of view--the existence of involution processes in the neurochemical organization of the PVH during aging.
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PMID:Influence of aging on the neurochemical organization of the rat paraventricular nucleus. 236 52

As part of a series of studies in which we are attempting to determine the roles of the lateral spinal (LSn) and lateral cervical (LCn) nuclei in somatic sensation, we have examined the fibers and terminals within these nuclei in the rat using the indirect immunofluorescence technique. Eleven antisera were used. Within the LSn, antisera against dynorphin 1-8 (DYN), substance P (SP), and Met-enkephalin (ENK) produced labeling of a large number of processes in all segmental levels examined. Processes labeled with these antisera frequently apposed the cell bodies and dendrites of LSn neurons. Antisera against somatostatin (SOM) and FMRF-NH2 (FMRF) labeled smaller numbers of processes within the LSn. Few, if any, processes in the LSn were labeled using antisera against serotonin, cholecystokinin octapeptide, oxytocin, neurotensin, corticotrophin-releasing factor, and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. In contrast to the LSn, the LCn contained virtually no labeled processes irrespective of the antiserum employed. An area was found adjacent to the LCn in the medial portion of the dorsal lateral funiculus (DLf) of C2 that resembled the LSn in several of its anatomical characteristics: like the LSn, the medial portion of the C2 DLf contained small multipolar neurons; it was similar to the LSn in its medial-lateral extent; and following staining with each antiserum, the LSn and the medial DLf of C2 contained a similar number of labeled processes. The peptide-containing area in the medial DLf of C2 was found to be continuous with the LSn. We therefore propose that this region is a rostral extension of the LSn.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Immunocytochemical studies of the peptidergic content of fibers and terminals within the lateral spinal and lateral cervical nuclei. 241 May 76

An immunocytochemical analysis with 33 antisera was undertaken to investigate the localization of 25 different neurotransmitter-related antigens in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus in the rat. To obtain estimates of relative densities of immunoreactive axons a stereological approach was used involving counting of intersections of immunoreactive axons with a superimposed semi-circle test grid. All neurotransmitter-related antigens found in perikarya within the suprachiasmatic nucleus, including those stained with antisera against bombesin, gastrin-releasing peptide, neurophysin, vasopressin, somatostatin, gamma-aminobutyrate, glutamate decarboxylase and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide were also found in axons within the nucleus. A greater number of these immunoreactive axons was found within the nucleus than in the adjacent anterior hypothalamus. The size of all immunoreactive axons in the suprachiasmatic nucleus was consistently small; immunoreactive axons were found ramifying widely in the nucleus, often ending with terminal boutons near perikarya immunoreactive for the same antigen. All neurotransmitter-related substances found in perikarya of the suprachiasmatic nucleus were also found in axons crossing over the midline to innervate the contralateral nucleus, providing an anatomical substrate for a high degree of communication between the paired nuclei. Axons immunoreactive for other putative transmitters including serotonin arising outside the nucleus were also found in high densities within the nucleus and crossing over the midline between the nuclei. Immunoreactivity for some transmitters was found in axons of similar densities within and outside the nucleus, including antisera against tyrosine hydroxylase; a small number of dopamine beta-hydroxylase and a few phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase-immunoreactive axons were found in the SCN, suggesting that dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine may occur in a limited number of axons in the nucleus. Small numbers of axons immunoreactive with antisera raised against cholecystokinin, prolactin, substance P, thyrotropin-releasing hormone and choline acetyltransferase were found within the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Axons immunoreactive for luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone and neurotensin were rarely found within the suprachiasmatic nucleus; axons immunoreactive for luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, cholecystokinin and tyrosine hydroxylase were found in both horizontal and coronal sections in the area between the left and right suprachiasmatic nuclei.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Neurotransmitters of the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus: immunocytochemical analysis of 25 neuronal antigens. 241 88

The distribution of leucine-enkephalin, methionine-enkephalin, neurotensin, somatostatin, substance P, oxytocin, vasopressin, neurophysin II, and serotonin in nerve terminals and fibers of sympathetic autonomic areas of the thoracolumbar (T-L) spinal cord was studied immunohistochemically in cats. Densities of these immunoreactive terminals and fibers were estimated in the intermediolateral nucleus pars principalis (IMLp) and pars funicularis (IMLf), the nucleus intercalatus (IC), and the central autonomic area (CA). Results for leucine- and methionine-enkephalin-like immunoreactivity (ENK) were similar and immunoreactivity for vasopressin was not observed. The greatest numbers of terminals and fibers in the IMLp region contained ENK, neurotensin-(NT), and serotonin-like immunoreactivity (5HT); terminals and fibers containing substance P-(SP) and neurophysin II-like immunoreactivity (NP2) were intermediate in number, and those containing somatostatin-(SS) and oxytocin-like immunoreactivity (OXY) were generally sparse. In the IC and CA, terminals and fibers containing ENK and NT were dense, those containing SP were moderate, and those containing OXY, NP2, and 5HT were sparsely represented. In the IMLp, where the largest proportion of sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPN) is found, the greatest concentration of terminals and fibers containing ENK was found in segments T1-T8; for NT these segments were T1-T5 and T11-L1, for SP-C8-T2 and T11-L1, for NP2-T4-T7 and L2 to L3, and for 5HT-T1-T5. Terminals and fibers containing SS and OXY were present in segments C8-T10 and segments C8, T2-T8, T13, and L2 to L3, respectively. These results indicate that while ENK, NT, SP, NP2, and 5HT fibers and terminals are widely distributed throughout the T-L cord, they may influence to a greater degree the SPN in segments where they are present in greater numbers. As SS and OXY were not found at all levels of the IMLp, their functions may be more organ specific.
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PMID:Segmental distribution of peptide- and 5HT-like immunoreactivity in nerve terminals and fibers of the thoracolumbar sympathetic nuclei of the cat. 241 41

The distribution of leucine-enkephalin, methionine-enkephalin, neurotensin, somatostatin, substance P, oxytocin, vasopressin, and neurophysin II in cell bodies of sympathetic autonomic nuclei of the thoracolumbar (T-L) spinal cord was studied immunohistochemically in cats after intrathecal administration of colchicine. Neurons containing only enkephalin-, neurotensin-, somatostatin-, and substance P-like immunoreactivity (ENK, NT, SS, SP, respectively) were found in the intermediolateral nucleus pars principalis (IMLp) and pars funicularis (IMLf), the nucleus intercalatus (IC), and the central autonomic area (CA). The size, shape, location, and numbers of the peptide-positive neurons in the IMLp, IMLf, and IC suggested that they were sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPN). This was confirmed by a combined retrograde tracing/immunohistochemical study showing that most of these neurons at the levels of the T-L cord known to provide preganglionic fibers to the stellate ganglion were SPN. On the other hand, the functional identification of the neurons in the CA is uncertain as neurons were not observed which were both retrogradely labelled and contained ENK, NT, SS, or SP. Immunoreactive neurons in each area were counted in ten sections from each segment from C8 to L4. In the IMLp, the SPN with ENK were greatest in number (up to 25) in segments T4-T7 and L2-L3. The maximum number of SPN containing NT was found in segments T4-T7 (45 neurons). Of the four peptides, neurons containing SS were found in the greatest number (up to 48 in segments T2-T6); neurons containing SP were found in the smallest number (15 or fewer per segment). Few SPN containing each of the four peptides were found in the IC; CA neurons with ENK and NT were also few in number. A comparison of the numbers of immunoreactive neurons in the IML with earlier estimates for the total numbers of SPN in the IML at each level showed that the proportions of IML neurons containing each of the four peptides were fairly consistent throughout the T-L cord, with some exceptions. These results suggest that the innervation of visceral organs is not obviously peptide-specific, although some organs may be innervated by a greater proportion of SPN containing one of these peptides. Finally, the presence of ENK, NT, SS, and SP in SPN suggests that these four peptides act as neurotransmitters in preganglionic pathways to sympathetic ganglia.
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PMID:Segmental distribution of peptide-like immunoreactivity in cell bodies of the thoracolumbar sympathetic nuclei of the cat. 241 42

The medial preoptic nucleus (MPN) is a sexually dimorphic complex with three major subdivisions. The cell-dense central (MPNc) and medial (MPNm) subdivisions are larger in male rats, while the cell-sparse lateral subdivision (MPNl) occupies a majority of the nucleus in females. In the present study we evaluated the distribution of possible monoaminergic and peptidergic cells and fibers within the MPN, as well as in adjacent regions of the medial preoptic area of the adult male rat. For this, we used an indirect immunohistochemical method with antisera to serotonin (5HT), dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), neuropeptide Y (NPY), cholecystokinin (CCK), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), substance P (SP), neurotensin (NT), corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), luteotropin-releasing hormone (LRH), somatostatin (SS), thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), oxytocin (OXY), vasopressin (VAS), adrenocorticotropic hormone (1-24; ACTH), alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), leucine-enkephalin (L-ENK), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). The results suggest that cell bodies and/or fibers crossreacting with all of these putative neurotransmitters are differentially distributed within the MPN. Within the MPNm, the densest plexuses of fibers were stained with antisera to SP and NPY, while moderate densities of fibers were stained with anti-DBH, SS, CCK, CGRP, ACTH, and alpha-MSH, and only a few fibers were stained with anti-5HT, TH, NT, VAS, and L-ENK. Moderate numbers of SP- and L-ENK-immunoreactive cell bodies, and a few SS-, NT-, CRF-, and TRH-stained cell bodies were also found within the MPNm. The MPNc contained a dense plexus of CCK-immunoreactive fibers, as well as a few CRF-immunoreactive fibers. Both fiber types were localized almost exclusively to this subdivision, while most of the others studied here appeared to avoid it selectively. This suggests that there are relatively few inputs to the MPNc, and that they tend to avoid other parts of the nucleus, although moderate densities of DBH- and NPY-immunoreactive fibers were found in both the MPNm and MPNc. The MPNc contained several CCK-immunoreactive cell bodies as well as a moderate number of TRH-stained cell bodies. Both cell types were nearly completely localized to the MPNc. The major inputs to the MPNl studied here appear to be stained with antisera to 5HT and L-ENK, although moderate numbers of NT- and CRF- immunoreactive fibers were also found in this part of the nucleus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Neurotransmitter specificity of cells and fibers in the medial preoptic nucleus: an immunohistochemical study in the rat. 242 28

In three species of teleosts - carp Cyprinus carpio; grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella; and crucian carp Carassius auratus - the caudal neurosecretory system displays small, medium-sized and large neurons. Urotensin I (UI)-immunoreactive and UI-nonreactive neurons were found in all three groups; in general, the number of the latter neurons exceeded that of the former. Noteworthy are: (i) UI-immunoreactive fibers in the caudal spinal cord and (ii) dense accumulations of UI-immunoreactive product around the capillaries of the urophysis. In two species of elasmobranchs-cat shark Heterodontus japonicus and swell shark Cephaloscyllium umbratile - neurosecretory neurons decreased in size in rostro-caudal direction. Most of the neurosecretory perikarya, their axons and the corresponding neurohemal areas were UI-immunoreactive, but a small number of secretory neurons was devoid of immunoreaction. Oxytocin, arginine vasopressin, substance P, somatostatin, neurotensin, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and gastrin-releasing peptide were not detected in the caudal neurosecretory system of the carp.
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PMID:Immunohistochemical localization of urotensin I and other neuropeptides in the caudal neurosecretory system of three species of teleosts and two species of elasmobranchs. 242 10

Characterization of specific vasopressin binding sites was investigated in purified mouse Leydig cells using tritiated arginine-vasopressin. Binding of radioligand was saturable, time- and temperature-dependent and reversible. (3H)-AVP was found to bind to a single class of sites with high affinity (Kd = 2.20 +/- 0.18 nM) and low capacity (Bmax = 17.4 +/- 1.8 fmol/10(6) Leydig cells). Binding displacements with specific selective analogs of AVP indicated the presence of V1 subtype receptors on Leydig cells. The ability of AVP to displace (3H)-AVP binding was greater than LVP and oxytocin. The unrelated peptides, somatostatin and substance P, were less potent, while neurotensin and LHRH did not displace (3H)-AVP binding. The time-course effects of AVP-pretreatment on basal and hCG-stimulated testosterone and cAMP accumulations were studied in primary culture of Leydig cells. Basal testosterone accumulation was significantly increased by a 24 h AVP-pretreatment of Leydig cells (P less than 0.001). This effect was potentiated by the phosphodiesterase inhibitor (MIX) and was concomitantly accompanied by a slight but significant increase in cAMP accumulation (P less than 0.01). AVP-pretreatment of the cells for 72 h had no effect on basal testosterone accumulation, but exerted a marked inhibitory effect on the hCG-stimulated testosterone accumulation (P less than 0.001). This reduction of testosterone accumulation occurred even in the presence of MIX and was not accompanied by any significant change of cAMP levels. We conclude from these data that AVP is capable of modulating steroidogenesis in Leydig cells through specific and functionally V1 receptor subtype and postulate that this effect may be part of an intratesticular paracrine/autocrine control mechanism.
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PMID:Modulation of mouse Leydig cell steroidogenesis through a specific arginine-vasopressin receptor. 245 54


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