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Estrogen effects on oxytocinergic pathways that regulate food intake

Dusti K Sloan1, Diana S Spencer2, Kathleen S Curtis3

  • 1Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Oklahoma State University-Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK 74107, USA; Department of Science and Mathematics, Tulsa Community College, Tulsa, OK 74133, USA.

Hormones and Behavior
|August 18, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Estrogen and oxytocin (OT) reduce food intake. Estrogen increases OT mRNA and protein, and blocking OT reverses estrogen

Area of Science:

  • Neuroendocrinology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Neural circuits and signaling molecules regulate eating behavior.
  • Estrogen and oxytocin (OT) are known to decrease food intake, but their interaction is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the interaction between estrogen and oxytocin in controlling food intake.
  • To elucidate the mechanisms underlying estrogen's effect on appetite.

Main Methods:

  • RT-qPCR to measure OT mRNA in the hypothalamus (PVN).
  • Immunohistochemistry to assess OT protein levels in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS).
  • Food intake and body weight measurements in rats following estrogen and OT administration or antagonism.

Main Results:

  • 17β-estradiol benzoate (EB) treatment significantly increased OT mRNA in the PVN and OT labeling in the NTS.
  • EB treatment reduced food intake and body weight.
  • Co-administration of OT enhanced EB's weight-reducing effects, while OT antagonist reversed EB's effect on food intake.

Conclusions:

  • Estrogen's appetite-suppressing effects may be mediated through the oxytocinergic pathway.
  • Estrogen influences central oxytocin pathways involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis.
  • This study highlights a potential neuroendocrine mechanism linking estrogen and oxytocin in appetite control.
Keywords:
Body weightIntracerebroventricular injectionMicrostructural analysisNucleus of the solitary tractOxytocin antagonistParaventricular nucleus

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