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...

Background: To evaluate the effect of oxytocin on blood circulation of fetus and uterus by Doppler ultrasound. Materials and Methods: Forty six pregnant women were assigned to receive for indication of delivery intravenous oxytocin. Doppler velocitometry before and after administration of oxytocin for umbilical,middle cerebral artery and uterine artery were performed, and Pulsatility index (PI)...

Oxytocin is used widely for the induction and augmentation of labour, but there is little information about the dynamics of oxytocin receptors in human myometrium during parturition, and the possible effect of oxytocin infusion. This information is important because G protein-coupled receptors, such as the oxytocin receptor, undergo desensitization after prolonged or repeated stimulation. The c...

In the study of the relationship between structure and biological activity in the neurohypophysial hormones, oxytocin and vasopressin, attention has recently been focused in this and other laboratories on the chemical functional groups. Aside from peptide linkages, these chemical functional groups in oxytocin consist of a primary amino, a phenolic hydroxyl, three carboxamide groups, and a disul...

BACKGROUND. Oxytocin is a well known drug most commonly used in obstetrics for induction or augmentation of labor. Due to its essential role in labor, and the overall effect in the body, oxytocin must be deeply understood by all obstetricians who use it and prescribe it. There is relevant data listed about oxytocin and has reviewed the evidence in 31 full text articles of indexed journals betwe...

The oxytocin receptor has been implicated in the regulation of reproductive physiology as well as social and emotional behaviors. The neurochemical mechanisms by which oxytocin receptor modulates social and emotional behavior remains elusive, in part because of a lack of sensitive and selective antibodies for cellular localization. To more precisely characterize oxytocin receptor-expressing neu...

BACKGROUND The endocrinology of skeletal muscle is highly complex and many issues about hormone action in skeletal muscle are still unresolved. Aim of the work is to improve our knowledge on the relationship between skeletal muscle and 17β-estradiol. METHODS The skeletal muscle cell line C2C12 was treated with 17β-estradiol, the oxytocin peptide and a combination of the two hormones. The mRNA...

Oxytocin is a major neuropeptide that modulates the brain functions involved in social behaviour and interaction. Despite of the importance of oxytocin for the neural control of social behaviour, little is known about the molecular mechanism(s) by which oxytocin secretion in the brain is regulated. Pro-oxytocin is synthesised in the cell bodies of hypothalamic neurones in the supraoptic and par...

BACKGROUND The drug treatments of choice for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs). However, a correlation between the neuropeptide oxytocin in cerebrospinal fluid and the severity of OCD has previously been shown, and oxytocin and serotonin are interconnected within the brain. Few studies have investigated whether SRIs have any effect on oxytocin; thus, o...

AIM The effects of oxytocin on colonic perception of intraluminal distension were evaluated in 26 patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), using a flaccid bag placed in the descending colon and connected to a computerised barostat. METHOD Symptomatic responses (first sensation and pain) were evaluated during isobaric distensions (4 mm Hg increments, five minute duration, five minute inte...