title: Effect of the interaction between food state and the action of estrogen on oxytocinergic system activity.
abstract: Increased plasma osmolality by food intake evokes augmentation of plasma oxytocin (OT). Ovarian steroids may also influence the balance of body fluids by acting on OT neurones. Our aim was to determine if estrogen influences the activity of OT neurones in paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SON) under different osmotic situations. Ovariectomized rats (OVX) were treated with either estradiol (E(2)) or vehicle and were divided into three groups: group I was fed ad libitum, group II underwent 48 h of fasting, and group III was refed after 48 h of fasting. On the day of the experiment, blood samples were collected to determine the plasma osmolality and OT. The animals were subsequently perfused, and OT/FOS immunofluorescence analysis was conducted on neurones in the PVN and the SON. When compared to animals which were fasted or fed ad libitum, the plasma osmolality of refed animals was higher, regardless of whether they were treated with vehicle or E(2). We observed neural activation of OT cells in vehicle- or E(2)-treated OVX rats refed after 48 h of fasting, but not in animals fed ad libitum or in animals that only underwent 48 h of fasting. Finally, the percentage of neurones that co-expressed OT and FOS was lower in both the PVN and the SON of animals treated with E(2) and refed, when compared to vehicle-treated animals. These results suggest that E(2) may have an inhibitory effect on OT neurones and may modulate the secretion of OT in response to the increase of osmolality induced by refeeding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto - SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lucio-Oliveira
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Franci
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004435:Eating; D004958:Estradiol / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D007032:Hypothalamus, Anterior / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D010052:Ovariectomy; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D010286:Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013495:Supraoptic Nucleus / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D009435:Synaptic Transmission; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D004958:Estradiol; D010121:Oxytocin