Enhanced corticosterone concentrations and attenuated Fos expression in the medial amygdala of female oxytocin knockout mice exposed to psychogenic stress
Abstract
Centrally released oxytocin (OT) is believed to attenuate the response of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to psychogenic stress. To test this hypothesis, we measured plasma corticosterone concentrations and Fos-immunoreactive protein in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) and limbic brain areas of female wild-type and OT knockout mice that were exposed to a shaker platform, a predominantly psychogenic stress. Plasma corticosterone concentrations after shaker stress were higher in female OT knockout mice than wild-type mice. Genotypic differences in the corticosterone response after shaker stress persisted across all stages of the estrous cycle and when mice were conditioned to repeated shaker stress. Shaker stress activated Fos in OT-positive neurons of wild-type mice and corticotropin-releasing hormone-positive, but not vasopressin-positive, neurons within the PVN of wild-type and OT knockout mice. Fos expression was also increased after shaker stress in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, medial and central nuclei of the amygdala, medial preoptic area, and the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus of wild-type and OT knockout mice. However, Fos expression in the medial amygdala was significantly lower in female OT knockout mice than wild-type mice. Our findings indicate heightened stress-induced corticosterone release in female OT knockout mice. Therefore, the results suggest that OT pathways play a role in attenuating the HPA axis res…
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OT may regulate HPA axis gain at the PVN level as well as the pituitary.
“suggesting that OT may regulate HPA axis gain at the PVN level as well as the pituitary.”
From Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal and hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axes: sex differences in regulation of stress responsivity (2017) · cites this paper as Mantella, Vollmer, Rinaman, Li, & Amico, 2004
Global deletion of OT in female mice results in increased stress-induced CORT secretion and Crh mRNA expression in the PVN.
“Furthermore, global deletion of OT in female mice results in increased stress-induced CORT secretion and Crh mRNA expression in the PVN (Mantella, Vollmer, Rinaman, Li, & Amico, 2004; Nomura et al., 2003)”
From Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal and hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axes: sex differences in regulation of stress responsivity (2017) · cites this paper as Mantella, Vollmer, Rinaman, Li, & Amico, 2004
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- Authors
- Mantella, R. C., Vollmer, R. R., Rinaman, L., Li, X., & Amico, J. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Venue
- American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology
- Publisher
- American Physiological Society
- Published
- 2004-12
- Volume
- 287
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- R1494-R1504
- ISSN
- 0363-6119 (ISSN-L)
- 1522-1490
- OpenAlex
- W2103704475
- Cited by
- 71
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 6.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Pittsburgh
- National Institutes of Health (5r01hd037268-04)
- National Institute of Mental Health
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD37268)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
- Keywords
- oxytocin, corticosterone, psychogenic stress, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, medial amygdala, Fos expression, paraventricular nucleus, corticotropin-releasing factor, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, medial preoptic area, paraventricular thalamus, estrous cycle, sex differences
- MeSH terms
- Amygdala, Analysis of Variance, Animals, Corticosterone, Estrus, Female, Gene Expression Regulation, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Oxytocin, Stress, Psychological, Genes, fos, Mice, Knockout, Mice
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