Presence of Oxytocin, Vasopressin and Atrial Natriuretic Peptide and Their Modification in Rat Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus During Resistance Training

Abstract

SummaryMany studies have demonstrated the physiological effects of oxytocin (OT), atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and vasopressin (VP) in the homoeostasis of body fluids during physical exercise. However, a little information is available about the related immunohistochemical changes in hypothalamic magnocellular neurosecretory system during and after the training. The aim of the present work was to study the immunohistochemical changes in OT, ANP and VP levels in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus during and after resistance exercise protocol. Three groups of Wistar rats were trained by a rung ladder protocol for 15, 30 and 45 days, respectively; a fourth group was left to rest for 15 days after the training. Finally, four sedentary groups were used as controls. The results show that resistance training induces a significant reduction in the percentage of OT-positive neurons, compared with sedentary controls. In contrast, this protocol did not induce any change in VP levels, and ANP levels did not change significantly. However, VP increased after the resting period of 15 days. Our work shows that neurons of the paraventricular nucleus are involved in body fluid homoeostasis during and after resistance exercise. The functional significance of these changes in OT and VP levels, during and after the protocol, needs to be further investigated.

Animal models of resistance exercise and their application to neuroscience research

“…Resistance exercise also regulates other hormonal outputs related to the HPA axis, namely oxytocin and vasopressin (Farina et al, 2014; Lipari et al, 2010). These studies have shown that ladder climbing produces a decrease in oxytocin-positive neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, indicative of either an increase in the release or decrease in the production of oxytocin in this region (Farina et al, 2014).…”

“…These studies have shown that ladder climbing produces a decrease in oxytocin-positive neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, indicative of either an increase in the release or decrease in the production of oxytocin in this region (Farina et al, 2014). Although resistance training does not produce immediate changes in vasopressin concentrations, increases in vasopressin-positive neurons are observed in the paraventricular nucleus following a 15-day rest period (Farina et al, 2014).…”

“…These studies have shown that ladder climbing produces a decrease in oxytocin-positive neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, indicative of either an increase in the release or decrease in the production of oxytocin in this region (Farina et al, 2014). Although resistance training does not produce immediate changes in vasopressin concentrations, increases in vasopressin-positive neurons are observed in the paraventricular nucleus following a 15-day rest period (Farina et al, 2014). These findings are important because oxytocin and vasopressin are putative therapeutic targets for a variety of mental health outcomes, including anxiety, autism, and substance use disorders (Matsuzaki et al, 2012; McGregor and Bowen, 2012; Stavropoulos and Carver, 2013).…”

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and oxytocin-expression in the adult rat and mouse cerebellum

“…CNP is also distributed widely in brain, but its level does not differ in each brain region [ 8 ]. In our previous studies showed in the developing rat that the ANP is present in the hypothalamic supraoptic [ 9 ], suprachiasmatic nuclei [ 10 ] and lateral choroid plexus [ 11 ], therefore also showed that ANP is involved in the resistance training, since in the hypothalamic supraoptic nucleus ANP-immunopositivity is lesser in the trained than the sedentary rats and the immunopositivity increases from 15th to 45th days of a resistance training with decreased release in bloodstream of the peptides, [ 12 ]; by contrast in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus the ANP-immunopositivity has no significant change [ 13 ].…”

Editorial: Myokines, Adipokines, Cytokines in Muscle Pathophysiology

“…The ways in which exerciserelated myokines (exerkines) are involved in tissue crosstalk during physical exercise is a topic of interest and is likely to attract further research attention in the future. Exercise affects vasopressin and oxytocin expression in the neurons of the paraventricular nucleus (Farina et al, 2014) and induces a fivefold increase in the circulating levels of the neurohypophyseal hormone vasopressin (Melin et al, 1980). This increase is associated with the beneficial effects of exercise on muscle homeostasis and suggests a model whereby physical activity stimulates muscle secretion of the neurohypophyseal hormones, which increases muscle responsiveness to the same hormones through the up-regulation of their receptors (Adamo et al).…”