A influência da ocitocina e do antagonista do receptor de ocitocina no metabolismo ósseo, estresse oxidativo, padrões da marcha e análise do tipo ansioso de ratas senescentes / The influence of oxytocin and the oxytocin receptor antagonist on bone metabolism, oxidative stress, gait and analysis of the anxious type of senescent rats

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a ação da ocitocina (OT) endógena, bem como o efeito potencializador da OT exógena sobre o metabolismo ósseo, estresse oxidativo, marcha e análise do tipo ansioso de ratas na periestropausa. Ao completar 19 meses, os animais receberam injeções de solução salina (0,15M/ip), Atosiban (AT) (At; 300 µg/Kg/ip), OT (Ot; 134 µg/Kg/ip) ou At+Ot (injeções de OT 5 minutos após AT), sendo duas injeções de cada substância por dia, com intervalos de 12 horas entre elas, a cada 30 dias até a idade de 21 meses. Após trinta dias sem tratamentos, foi realizada a coleta de amostras biológicas. Aspartato aminotransferase (AST), marcador de dano hepático, foi menor em Ot e At+Ot. Substância ácida reativa ao ácido tiobarbitúrico (TBARs É¥mol/L), marcador do dano oxidativo lipídico, foi maior no grupo Ot comparado ao At (p = 0,0093), e menor no At+Ot em relação ao Ot (p = 0,0040). Houve maior defesa antioxidante enzimática avaliada por meio da superóxido dismutase (SOD) no grupo Ot em comparação ao Veh (p < 0,0312). Por sua vez, no grupo At houve maior atividade enzimática da fosfatase alcalina (FAL) em relação ao Veh e Ot (p < 0,0001; At+Ot: p = 0,0015). A espessura do tecido ósseo compacto foi menor no grupo At em relação ao Veh (p = 0,0228), no entanto, foi maior no grupo Ot em relação ao Veh e At (p = 0,0132, p < 0,0001); no grupo At+Ot foi menor quando comparado ao grupo Ot (p = 0,0003). O número de trabéculas ósseas foi menor no grupo At comparado ao Veh (p = 0,0240), e maior em Ot em relação ao At (p = 0,0084). Quanto a análise imunoistoquímica realizada no osso cortical do colo do fêmur, o grupo Ot apresentou maior expressão de osteocalcina (OCN) em comparação aos grupos Veh e At (p = 0,05 e 0,0033), e menor expressão no grupo At+Ot em relação ao grupo Ot (p = 0,05). A expressão de fosfatase ácida resistente ao tartarato (TRAP) foi menor no grupo Ot comparado aos grupos Veh e At (p = 0,05 e 0,0033), contudo foi maior no grupo At+Ot comparado ao Ot (p = 0,05). A densidade mineral óssea areal (DMO) foi significativamente maior nos grupos Ot e At+Ot em relação à Veh (p < 0,0001) e grupo At (p = 0,0231, p = 0,0418). Por sua vez, a relação mineral-matriz (vPO4/Proline) foi maior e a substituição de carbonato tipo B (CO3/vPO4) foi menor no grupo Veh. O teste de deambulação por comprimento (cm) usado para avaliar função musculoesquelética, aumentou em última análise no grupo Ot em relação ao grupo Veh - F (p = 0,0078), At - F (p = 0,0023), bem como aumentou sobre Ot - I (p = 0,0094). O teste do labirinto, usado para estudar o comportamento chamado "tipo ansioso", demonstrou que a OT inverte a redução nas entradas dos braços fechados, reduz o tempo gasto no centro causado pelo At. Os resultados obtidos neste estudo demonstram que a OT ajuda a modular o ciclo de remodelação óssea de ratas senescentes, melhorando os parâmetros de densitometria óssea e os parâmetros funcionais musculoesquelético(AU)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the endogenous oxytocin (OT) action, as well as the potentiating effect of exogenous OT on the bone metabolism, oxidative stress, gait and analysis of the anxious type of rats in periestropause. Upon completing 19 months, the animals received injections of saline solution (0.15M/ip), Atosiban (AT) (At; 300 µg/Kg/ip), OT (Ot; 134 µg/Kg/ip) or At+Ot (OT injections 5 minutes after AT), being two injections of each substance per day, with intervals of 12 hours between them, every 30 days until the age of 21 months. After thirty days without treatment, biological samples were collected. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), a marker of liver damage, was lower after Ot and At+Ot. Acid reactive substance to thiobarbituric acid (TBARs µmol/L), marker of lipid oxidative damage, was higher in the Ot group compared to At (p = 0.0093), and lower in At+Ot compared to Ot (p = 0.0040). There was a higher antioxidant enzymatic defense evaluated by means of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the Ot group compared to Veh (p < 0.0312). In turn, in the At group there was greater alkaline phosphatase (FAL) enzymatic activity in relation to Veh and Ot (p < 0.0001; At+Ot: p = 0.0015). The thickness of the compact bone tissue was smaller in the At group in relation to Veh (p = 0.0228), however, it was greater in the Ot group in relation to Veh and At (p = 0.0132, p < 0.0001); in the At+Ot group it was smaller when compared to Ot (p = 0.0003). The number of bone trabecules was smaller in the At group compared to the Veh (p = 0.0240), and greater in Ot in relation to the At (p = 0.0084). As for the immunohistochemical analysis performed on the cortical bone of the femoral neck, the Ot group presented a higher expression of osteocalcin (OCN) compared to the Veh and At groups (p = 0.05 and 0.0033), and lower expression in the At+Ot group compared to the Ot group (p = 0.05). The tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) expression was lower in the Ot group compared to the Veh and At groups (p = 0.05 and 0.0033), however it was higher in the At+Ot group compared to Ot (p = 0.05). The sandal mineral density (BMD) was significantly higher in the Ot and At+Ot groups compared to Veh (p < 0.0001) and At group (p = 0.0231, p = 0.0418). In turn, the parent mineral ratio (vPO4/Proline) was higher and the replacement of carbonate type B (CO3/vPO4) was lower in the Veh group. The walking test per length (cm) used to evaluate musculoskeletal function was ultimately increased in group Ot in relation to group Veh - F (p = 0.0078), At - F (p = 0.0023), as well as increased over Ot - I (p = 0.0094). The labyrinth test, used to study the so-called "anxious type" behavior, demonstrated that the OT reverses the reduction in the entries of the closed arms, reducing the time spent in the center caused by At. The results obtained in this study show that the OT helps to modulate the cycle of bone remodeling of senescent rats, improving the parameters of bone densitometry and the musculoskeletal functional parameters(AU)

Effects of oxytocin and an oxytocin receptor antagonist on retention of a nose-poke habituation response in mice

The present study describes the use of nose-poke habituation as a memory task in mice and demonstrates that it is sensitive to oxytocin (OT) and an oxytocin receptor antagonist (AOT) administered after the learning trial. Habituation of nose-poke behavior of mice was defined as a reduction in number of nose-pokes compared to baseline, and was measured in a hole-board apparatus to which male Swiss mice were exposed on two consecutive days for 5 min, respectively. Immediate post-training subcutaneous administration of OT (2.00 mug/kg) impaired retention performance, whereas AOT (0.20 mug/kg) enhanced it. Neither the impairing effects of OT (2.00 mug/kg) nor the enhancing effects of AOT (0.20 mug/kg) were seen when the training treatment interval was 180 min, suggesting that both treatments influenced the storage of recently acquired information. The effects of OT (2.00 mug/kg) on retention were prevented by AOT (0.02 mug/kg) administered immediately after training but 10 min prior OT treatment. This dose of antagonist did not affect retention by itself which suggest that impairing effects of OT on retention are probably due to an interaction of the neuropeptide with specific receptors. The actions of OT and AOT on retention were not due to enduring proactive effects of the compounds on performance during the retention test, since when given to untrained mice did not modify their spontaneous activities in the hole-board when recorded 24 h later. We suggest that nose-poke habituation learning can be a suitable method to investigate the mnestic effects of drugs, and that oxytocin negatively modulates memory storage of this form of learning elicited by stimuli repeatedly presented without reinforcement.