Immune-regulating effect of oxytocin and its association with the hypothalamic-pituitary axes.

J Neuroimmunol

Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China. Electronic address:

Published: September 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • Oxytocin plays a role in regulating immune activity, but its effects under chronic stress conditions like cesarean delivery are not well understood.
  • A study on rats revealed that abnormal oxytocin levels after cesarean delivery led to thymic tissue atrophy, indicating potential immunity issues.
  • Microinjection of a neurotoxin affected hypothalamic oxytocin levels and caused changes in other hormones, highlighting the importance of plasma oxytocin for maintaining immune system balance.

Article Abstract

Oxytocin can regulate immunological activity directly or indirectly; however, immunological functions and mechanisms of oxytocin actions under chronic stress like cesarean delivery (CD) are poorly understood. Our study found that abnormal oxytocin production and secretion in CD rats caused atrophy of thymic tissues. Neurotoxin kainic acid microinjected into the dorsolateral supraoptic nucleus in male rats selectively reduced hypothalamic oxytocin levels, increased corticotrophin-releasing hormone and plasma interleukin-1β while reducing plasma oxytocin, thyroxine and testosterone levels and causing atrophy of immune tissues. Thus, plasma oxytocin is essential for immunological homeostasis, which involves oxytocin facilitation of thyroid hormone and sex steroid secretion.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneuroim.2024.578419DOI Listing

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