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Horm Metab Res 1996; 28(3): 119-121
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-979142
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© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Estradiol Conjugated to BSA Releases Oxytocin from Synaptosome-Containing Homogenates from the Medial Preoptic Area-Hypothalamus

J. D. Caldwell1 , M. A. Morris2 , C. H. Walker3 , R. B. Carr3 , B. M. Faggin4 , G. A. Mason3
  • 1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota
  • 2Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
  • 3School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
  • 4Department of Pharmacology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, U.S.A.
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Publication History

1995

1995

Publication Date:
23 April 2007 (online)

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Estradiol conjugated to bovine serum albumin at position 6 (E-6-BSA) released oxytocin (OT) from homogenates of the medial preoptic area and medial hypothalamus (MPOA-MH) within minutes of its superfusion. Using a superfusion system in which synaptosome-containing homogenates were layered onto acrodiscs maintained at 37°C, we have found that E-6-BSA (100 ng/µl) superfusions significantly elevated OT release within minutes. In contrast, supeifusion of the same concentration of BSA or progesterone-3-BSA (P-3-BSA) had no effect on OT release. While superfusing homogenates with augmented levels of K+ had no effect on OT release itself, superfusing E-6-BSA with these concentrations of K+ consistently increased OT release. This is the first demonstration that E-6-BSA increases OT release in a nucleus-free medium.

Key words

Oxytocin Release - Estradiol - Hypothalamus