Enriched plasma membranes from uterine smooth muscle of estrogen-treated rats were prepared by discontinuous sucrose gradient centrifugation. This specific fraction contained oxytocin receptors and oxytocin-inhibited calcium-stimulated and magnesium-dependent adenosine-triphosphatase ((Ca + + Mg2+)ATPase) activity. Membranes from myometria of rats treated with progesterone lacked both basal and...

Oxytocin either increases or inhibits cell growth in different cell subtypes. We tested here the effect of oxytocin on cell proliferation and migration of human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC) and tumor-associated endothelial cells purified from human breast carcinomas (B-TEC). Oxytocin receptors were expressed in both cell subtypes at mRNA and protein levels. Through oxytocin rec...

Is oxytocin the hormone of happiness? Probably not. However, this small nine amino acid peptide is involved in a wide variety of physiological and pathological functions such as sexual activity, penile erection, ejaculation, pregnancy, uterus contraction, milk ejection, maternal behavior, osteoporosis, diabetes, cancer, social bonding, and stress, which makes oxytocin and its receptor potential...

Oxytocin protects against ischemia-induced inflammation and oxidative stress, and is associated with GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid, an inhibitory neurotransmitter) signaling transduction in neurons. However, the molecular mechanism by which oxytocin affords neuroprotection, especially the interaction between oxytocin receptor and GABAA receptor (GABAAR), remains to be elucidated. Primary rat neural...

BACKGROUND/AIM Several studies have described that oxytocin exerts stimulatory or inhibitory effects on gut functions. Recently, mRNA for oxytocin and its receptor was found throughout the entire human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The aim of this study was to examine the cellular localization and distribution of the corresponding proteins. MATERIAL AND METHODS Full-thickness biopsies from 24 ...

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Adiponectin is an adipocyte derived hormone which acts in the brain to modulate energy homeostasis and autonomic function. The paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) which plays a key role in controlling pituitary hormone secretion has been suggested to be a central target for adiponectin actions. A number of hormones produced by PVN neurons have been implicated in the regulation of ...

Variations in maternal behavior among lactating rats associate with differences in estrogen-oxytocin interactions in the medial preoptic area (mPOA) and in dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens (nAcc). Thus, stable, individual differences in pup licking/grooming (LG) are abolished by oxytocin receptor blockade or treatments that eliminate differences in the nAcc dopamine signal. We provide n...

BACKGROUND The strong male predominance in oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) and Barrett's oesophagus (BO) continues to puzzle. Hormonal influence, e.g. oestrogen or oxytocin, might contribute. METHODS This genetic-epidemiological study pooled 14 studies from three continents, Australia, Europe, and North America. Polymorphisms in 3 key genes coding for the oestrogen pathway (receptor alpha (E...

The hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin attracts the attention of both the neuroscientific community and the general public, especially because of its prosocial effects. In the brain, this neuropeptide is synthesized in neurons exclusively located within the hypothalamic nuclei. Magnocellular neurons compose the larger population of oxytocinergic neurons, project to the posterior pituitary lobe ...