催产素减轻抑郁症状机制的研究进展

抑郁症是临床上常见的精神疾病.目前缺少治疗抑郁症的有效手段.催产素(oxytocin,OT)是一种由下丘脑室旁核和视上核神经元分泌的神经肽,参与生理和病理状态下多种复杂神经精神活动.近年来,许多临床和基础研究显示OT可通过多种机制减轻抑郁症状.本文就OT的生理作用,抑郁状态下OT分泌水平,OT对抑郁相关激素、脑区、环路和神经可塑性及OT对氧化应激反应的作用等最新研究进展做一综述,探究OT减轻抑郁症状的机制.     

社会识别的分子生物学研究

在哺乳动物中,尽管群居生活的种类较多,但关于动物社会行为的分子生物学机制研究相对较少。社会识别是动物表现一系列社会行为的先决条件,动物通过它来确认和识别同种个体。升压素、催产素和性激素对社会识别有重要作用。回顾有关社会识别分子生物学方面的研究,主要是通过诸如基因敲除和反叉核酸等技术来探讨升压素、催产素和雌激素受体对小鼠社会识别的功能。     

精神类疾病与肥胖的关系：催产素的作用机制

催产素(OT)在中枢神经系统中发挥重要的调节功能。催产素不仅可以调节人和动物的社会行为,它还通过瘦素诱导的信号通路调控食欲和脂肪代谢;催产素分泌失调可同时引发精神类疾病和代谢类疾病。催产素已经被应用于精神类疾病以及肥胖、糖尿病等代谢类疾病的研究和临床治疗中,进一步研究催产素的功能是揭示这些疾病作用机制的重要途径。     

催产素对体重的调控及其对肥胖的治疗作用

肥胖正在全世界范围内以惊人的速度流行,肥胖增加了心血管疾病、2型糖尿病、脑卒中以及某些癌症的发病率和死亡率。但各种防治肥胖的医疗策略并不理想。近些年来,关于催产素对体重的调控作用日益成为研究人员关注的热点。本文主要阐述了催产素对摄食调控的作用、对能量消耗和脂肪代谢的影响机制,并阐述了催产素对不同肥胖动物模型及肥胖患者的治疗作用及其应用前景。     

药物成瘾与抑郁症共病机制的研究进展

药物成瘾和抑郁症的共患率日益提高,已发展成为常见的精神共病状态,但这两种疾病之间的联系及潜在的机制仍不明确,开发针对药物成瘾共病抑郁症的有效治疗手段仍是一项重大挑战。大量的文献表明,药物成瘾和抑郁症存在着共同的发生脑区及分子机制。该文阐述了伏隔核、外侧缰核和中脑腹侧被盖区等脑区在这种共病中的重要性,还介绍了κ阿片受体、促肾上腺激素释放因子和脑源性神经营养因子等分子在这种共病中的作用及机制。这些发现为研究药物成瘾与抑郁症共病的机制提供了新的思路,并为药物成瘾共病抑郁症患者的治疗提供了新的靶点。     

抑郁症分子机制中5-羟色胺2C受体的作用

5-羟色胺系统与抑郁症关系密切,阐明5-羟色胺相关受体在抑郁症中的作用,有助于抗抑郁药物的开发与应用,提高抑郁症的治疗效果。在5-羟色胺的受体中,5-羟色胺2C受体(5-hydroxytryptamine type 2C receptor,5-HT2CR)在抑郁症的发病及治疗机制中发挥重要的作用。虽然已有关于5-羟色胺2C受体与抑郁症具有相关性的报道,但近年来,5-羟色胺2C受体参与抑郁症的相关分子机制有了新的进展,本文将抑郁症分子机制中5-羟色胺2C受体的作用加以综述,以期为相关工作提供依据。     

SIRT1基因在抑郁症中的作用及机制研究进展

抑郁症是一类高致残率且难治愈的精神类疾病,目前其临床诊断和治疗都面临很大的困难,因此研究抑郁症患病机制,寻找抑郁症的潜在治疗靶点,并开发有效临床治疗手段刻不容缓。沉默信息调节因子2同源体1 (silent mating type information regulator 2 homolog 1, SIRT1)作为一种去乙酰化酶,参与细胞衰老、癌症、心血管疾病等多种生物学过程。近年来,越来越多的研究发现SIRT1基因在抑郁症发病过程中发挥了重要的作用,但是其机制尚不明确。本文主要总结了海马、前额叶皮层、杏仁核、下丘脑视交叉上核脑区和伏隔核中SIRT1基因影响抑郁症病理过程的相关研究进展,以期为抑郁症机制研究和抗抑郁药物的研发提供一定的参考和帮助。     

BDNF或5HTTLPR与抑郁症的研究

抑郁症是以抑郁为主要临床表征的一种精神疾病,近年抑郁症发病率正呈逐年上升趋势,如不加以干预,对患者及患者家庭、社会都会产生重大影响.对于抑郁症发病机制目前尚无定论,现有研究均停留在假说阶段.众多假说中脑源性神经营养因子(BDNF)和5-羟色胺转运体基因连锁多肽性区域(5-HTTLPR)参与抑郁症的病理生理过程,分别发挥重要作用,其基因也是抑郁症的候选基因,本研究对BDNF、5-HTTLPR在抑郁症及抗抑郁治疗等方面的作用进行文献综述.     

催产素及其受体与哺乳动物的生殖

催产素（OT）是一种9肽激素,主要由哺乳动物下丘脑产生,以神经内分泌,旁分泌或自分泌形成,在哺乳动物生殖过程中发挥重要作用,催产素受体（OTR）是与G－蛋白相耦联的膜蛋白,通过激活磷脂酶C发挥其生理作用,OT在交配,分娩,哺池时由神经垂体（垂体后叶）脉冲式释放,促进子宫平滑肌和乳腺肌上皮细胞收缩,利用精子运行,胎儿娩出和射出乳汁,OT在中枢神经系统中参与调节母性行为,在性腺中促进某些物种的黄体形成,OT与PGF2a共同作用使有蹄动物黄体退化,以上过程都依赖于OT和OTR基因的时空特异性表达,多种激素参与它们的表达调控,但OT的生理作用有时也可被其它途径所替代。     

抑郁症的成因及其新药治疗研究进展

抑郁症是一种发病率高、危害大的精神疾病,且发病的人群正在急剧增加。抑郁症的成因复杂,其病因机制尚不十分清楚。目前研究的病因主要包括神经递质受体异常、神经退化及内分泌、炎症细胞因子、表观遗传调节和大脑衍生神经营养因子等。随着新病因的揭开,抑郁症治疗的新药及其作用机理研究也取得了较大的进展。研发的新药主要包括:选择性5-羟色胺(5-HT)、去甲肾上腺素(NE)再摄取抑制剂、选择性NE再摄取抑制剂、肾上腺素能和特异性5-HT抗抑郁药、以及新药氯胺酮。本文就抑郁症发病的成因及主要的新药治疗策略进行了综述,为揭示抑郁症致病机制及其新药研发提供了理论依据。     

Oxytocin in obsessive compulsive disorder

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study with syntocinon (oxytocin) was carried out in 12 patients, nine females and three males with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Patients were treated by intranasal administration of oxytocin spray (18 IU per day) or placebo. No reductions in the number of obsessions or compulsive behaviors were observed in either treatment group. To evaluate whether a higher dosage would exert more beneficial effects, two additional patients were treated with a threefold higher dosage of oxytocin using an open design. In one patient a slight reduction in the number of checking rituals was observed, whereas in the other patient virtually no effect was observed. The results of this study do not support the hypothesis that oxytocin might be a potential anticompulsive agent.     

Oxytocin,oxytocin-associated neurophysin and the oxytocin receptor in the human prostate

Oxytocin has been implicated in the regulation of prostate growth. However, the cellular localisation of oxytocin in the normal and diseased human prostate is not known. Oxytocin, oxytocin-associated neurophysin and oxytocin receptor were detected by immunohistochemistry in tissues from patients undergoing routine prostatectomy and in normal human prostate epithelial and stromal cell lines. Western blot analysis detected a single band at 14 kDa with neurophysin antiserum and a 66-kDa band with oxytocin receptor antiserum in epithelial and stromal cell lines. Similar sized bands were also detected in extracts of hyperplastic and adenocarcinomic prostate tissues. Oxytocin, oxytocin-associated neurophysin and oxytocin receptor were present in stromal and epithelial cell lines and in tissue from patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. The peptides were localised predominantly to the epithelial cells, although discrete areas of stromal staining were also observed. There was a significant difference in the intensity of oxytocin-staining between tissue displaying benign prostatic hyperplasia and invasive carcinoma, with less immunoreactivity being present in the malignant epithelial cells. Thus, oxytocin and its neurophysin and receptor are present in epithelial and stromal cells of the human prostate. Oxytocin expression is reduced with tumour progression and may provide a marker for invasive disease.This work was supported by a Project Grant (007756) from the Wellcome Trust and from Lottery Health Research     

Oxytocin promotes heat stress tolerance via insulin signals in Caenorhabditis elegans

ABSTRACT

Oxytocin, has various physiological functions that have been well studied and many that remain unknown. Here, we aimed to determine new physiological functions of oxytocin using Caenorhabditis elegans. Oxytocin treatment promoted the restoration of movement after heat stress and enhanced the viability under heat stress. However, oxytocin had no effect on the life span and only little effect on the oxidative stress tolerance. In contrast, oxytocin treatment didn’t promote the restoration of movement or enhance the viability of deficient mutants of ntr-1/2, which is the gene encoding the oxytocin receptor. In addition, for mutants of daf-16, daf-2, tax-4, and some insulin-like peptides, the heat stress tolerance effect by oxytocin was canceled. Furthermore, oxytocin increased the expression levels of the DAF-16 target genes. Our results suggest that oxytocin treatment promoted the heat stress tolerance of C. elegans via the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway.     

Oxytocin induces intracellular Ca2+ release in cardiac fibroblasts from neonatal rats

Pituitary neuropeptide oxytocin is increasingly recognised as a cardiovascular hormone, in addition to its many regulatory roles in other organ systems. Studies in atrial and ventricular myocytes from the neonatal and adult rats have identified synthesis of oxytocin and the expression of oxytocin receptors in these cells. In cardiac fibroblasts, the most populous non-myocyte cell type in mammalian heart, the oxytocin receptors have not been described before. In the present study, we have investigated the direct effects of oxytocin on intracellular Ca²⁺ dynamics in ventricular myocytes and fibroblasts from new born rats. In myocytes, oxytocin increased the frequency of spontaneous Ca²⁺ transients and decreased their amplitude. Our data suggest that oxytocin receptors are also present and functional in the majority of cardiac fibroblasts. We used selective oxytocin receptor inhibitor L-371,257 and a number of intracellular Ca ²⁺ release blockers to investigate the mechanism of oxytocin induced Ca²⁺ signalling in cardiac fibroblasts. Our findings suggest that oxytocin induces Ca²⁺ signals in cardiac fibroblasts by triggering endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ release via inositol trisphosphate activated receptors. The functional significance of the oxytocin induced Ca²⁺ signalling in cardiac fibroblasts, especially for their activation into secretory active myofibroblasts, remains to be investigated.     

Interaction between Oxytocin Genotypes and Early Experience Predicts Quality of Mothering and Postpartum Mood

Individual differences in maternal behavior are affected by both early life experiences and oxytocin, but little is known about genetic variation in oxytocin genes and its effects on mothering. We examined two polymorphisms in the oxytocin peptide gene OXT (rs2740210 and rs4813627) and one polymorphism in the oxytocin receptor gene OXTR (rs237885) in 187 Caucasian mothers at six months postpartum. For OXT, both rs2740210 and rs4813627 significantly associated with maternal vocalizing to the infant. These polymorphisms also interacted with the quality of care mothers experienced in early life, to predict variation in maternal instrumental care and postpartum depression. However, postpartum depression did not mediate the gene-environment effects of the OXT SNPs on instrumental care. In contrast, the OXTR SNP rs237885 did not associate with maternal behavior, but it did associate with pre-natal (but not post-natal) depression score. The findings illustrate the importance of variation in oxytocin genes, both alone and in interaction with early environment, as predictors of individual differences in human mothering. Furthermore, depression does not appear to have a causal role on the variation we report in instrumental care. This suggests that variation in instrumental care varies in association with a gene-early environment effect regardless of current depressive symptomatology. Finally, our findings highlight the importance of examining multiple dimensions of human maternal behavior in studies of genetic associations.     

Oxytocin in health and disease

Oxytocin is a nonapeptide of the neurohypophyseal protein family that binds specifically to the oxytocin receptor to produce a multitude of central and peripheral physiological responses. Within the central nervous system oxytocin is expressed by the neurons of the hypothalamus that project into higher brain centres and the posterior pituitary gland, from where it enters the circulation by release into the portal capillaries. Centrally, it modulates, maternal, sexual, social and stress related behaviour. Peripheral actions of oxytocin are commonly associated with smooth muscle contraction, particularly within the female and male reproductive tracts. Local synthesis of oxytocin along with its receptor in these regions indicates the presence of local oxytocinergic systems. More sinister implications for oxytocin in autism, depression and several cancers have recently been identified. A greater understanding of the role of oxytocinergic mechanisms will determine the potential for targeting this regulatory peptide in the pharmacological management of these disorders.     

Oxytocin in the rat caudate nucleus influences pain modulation

Our previous studies have demonstrated that oxytocin (OXT) in the central nervous system plays a role in pain modulation. Many studies have found that caudate nucleus (CdN) enriches OXT and OXT receptors by the methods of historadioautograph and gene expression. The communication was designed to investigate OXT effect in the rat CdN on pain modulation. The results showed that (1) intra-CdN microinjection of OXT receptor antagonist, desGly-NH₂, d(CH₂)₅[d-Tyr₂, Thr-sup-4]OVT decreased the pain threshold, whereas the local administration of OXT increased the pain threshold in a dose-dependent manner; (2) OXT receptor antagonist can attenuate the analgesic role induced intra-CdN administration of OXT; and (3) pain stimulation could increase OXT concentration in the CdN perfusion liquid. The data suggested that OXT in the CdN was involved in this pain process via OXT receptors.     

Oxytocin, water intake, and food sodium availability in male rats

This study examined the effect of subcutaneous administration of the neurohormone oxytocin on water intake of ad lib-fed (with or without sodium availability in the diet) and food-deprived animals. Results of the first experiment showed that oxytocin increased water intake and urine excretion in food-deprived but not in ad lib-fed animals. However, oxytocin treatment did not modify the reduced water "balance" (fluid intake minus urine volume) resulting from food deprivation or the daily food intake (Experiment 1). The dose-dependent polydipsic effect of oxytocin on food-deprived rats was always preceded by an increase in sodium and fluid urine excretion (Experiment 2). Oxytocin also increased the water intake of animals fed ad lib with a low sodium diet (Experiment 3). These results suggest that the effect of oxytocin on water intake is dependent on the presence or absence of sodium in the diet and that the excretion of sodium is the main mechanism of oxytocinergic polydipsia in food-deprived male rats.     

Cholesterol as stabilizer of the oxytocin receptor

The function of the oxytocin receptor system is strongly dependent on steroids as demonstrated by several physiological studies. One key element of this dependence on steroids may be the interaction of cholesterol and the oxytocin receptor. In this study, we show that cholesterol stabilizes the solubilized human oxytocin receptor against thermal inactivation and proteolytic degradation. In the absence of additional cholesterol, the soluble receptor inactivates within minutes. Maximal stabilization of the oxytocin receptor requires a continuous supply with cholesterol from a cholesterol-rich environment. A structure-activity analysis of various cholesterol analogues and their effect on the thermal stability of the oxytocin receptor showed that the stabilizing function of cholesterol was highly specific. The structural requirements of a potent stabilizing steroid are very similar to those necessary to support the high-affinity state of the receptor. Moreover, in the presence of cholesterol, the oxytocin receptor is significantly more stable against alterations of pH value (pH 4-12). The results show that cholesterol acts as a general stabilizer of the oxytocin receptor.     

Oxytocin,testosterone, and human social cognition

I describe an integrative social‐evolutionary model for the adaptive significance of the human oxytocinergic system. The model is based on a role for this hormone in the generation and maintenance of social familiarity and affiliation across five homologous, functionally similar, and sequentially co‐opted contexts: mothers with offspring, female and male mates, kin groups, individuals with reciprocity partners, and individuals within cooperating and competing social groups defined by culture. In each situation, oxytocin motivates, mediates and rewards the cognitive and behavioural processes that underlie the formation and dynamics of a more or less stable social group, and promotes a relationship between two or more individuals. Such relationships may be positive (eliciting neurological reward, reducing anxiety and thus indicating fitness‐enhancing effects), or negative (increasing anxiety and distress, and thus motivating attempts to alleviate a problematic, fitness‐reducing social situation). I also present evidence that testosterone exhibits opposite effects from oxytocin on diverse aspects of cognition and behaviour, most generally by favouring self‐oriented, asocial and antisocial behaviours. I apply this model for effects of oxytocin and testosterone to understanding human psychological disorders centrally involving social behaviour. Reduced oxytocin and higher testosterone levels have been associated with under‐developed social cognition, especially in autism. By contrast, some combination of oxytocin increased above normal levels, and lower testosterone, has been reported in a notable number of studies of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, and, in some cases, higher oxytocin involves maladaptively ‘hyper‐developed’ social cognition in these conditions. This pattern of findings suggests that human social cognition and behaviour are structured, in part, by joint and opposing effects of oxytocin and testosterone, and that extremes of such joint effects partially mediate risks and phenotypes of autism and psychotic‐affective conditions. These considerations have direct implications for the development of therapies for alleviating disorders of social cognition, and for understanding how such disorders are associated with the evolution of human cognitive‐affective architecture.