Oxytocin as well as vasopressin potentiate ovine CRF in vitro.
We have investigated the effects of synthetic oxytocin and vasopressin on corticotropin release induced by the 41-residue ovine corticotropin-releasing factor (oCRF) in vitro. Segments of the anterior pituitary glands obtained from male and female Wistar or from female hetero- and homozygous Brattleboro rats were used. Ovine CRF (0.1-2.5 nmol/l) stimulated corticotropin release by pituitaries of Wistar rats and this effect was augmented two- to threefold in the presence of arginine vasopressin (0.09-0.9 mIU/ml) or oxytocin (0.9-90 mIU/ml). A similar phenomenon was demonstrated in Brattleboro rats. These data favor the hypothesis that oxytocin might have a physiological role in the regulation of pituitary-adrenocortical function in homozygous Brattleboro rats which lack vasopressin.
D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006579:Heterozygote; D006720:Homozygote; D008297:Male; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010903:Pituitary Gland, Anterior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011910:Rats, Brattleboro; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012756:Sheep
D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D010121:Oxytocin; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone