Anti-hypertrophic effects of oxytocin in rat ventricular myocytes

Oxytocin (OT) and functional OT receptor (OTR) are expressed in the heart and are involved in blood pressure regulation and cardioprotection. Cardiac OTR signaling is associated with atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and nitric oxide (NO) release. During the synthesis of OT, its precursor, termed OT-Gly-Lys-Arg (OT-GKR), is accumulated in the developing rat heart. Consequently, we hypothesized that an OT-related mechanism of ANP controls cardiomyocyte (CM) hypertrophy.

The experiments were carried out in newborn and adult rat CM cultures. The enhanced protein synthesis and increased CM volume were mediated by a 24-h treatment with endothelin-1 or angiotensin II.

The treatment of CM with OT or its abundant cardiac precursor, OT-GKR, revealed ANP accumulation in the cell peri-nuclear region and increased intracellular cGMP. Consequently, the CM hypertrophy was abolished by the treatment of 10nM OT or 10nM OT-GKR. The ANP receptor antagonist (anantin) and NO synthases inhibitor (l-NAME) inhibited cGMP production in CMs exposed to OT. STO-609 and compound C inhibition of anti-hypertrophic OT effects in CMs indicated the contribution of calcium-calmodulin kinase kinase and AMP-activated protein kinase pathways. Moreover, in ET-1 stimulated cells, OT treatment normalized the reduced Akt phosphorylation, prevented abundant accumulation of ANP and blocked ET-1-mediated translocation of nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) into the cell nuclei.

cGMP/protein kinase G mediates OT-induced anti-hypertrophic response with the contribution of ANP and NO. OT treatment represents a novel approach in attenuation of cardiac hypertrophy during development and cardiac pathology.