Oxytocin treatment alleviates stress-aggravated colitis by a receptor-dependent mechanism
Abstract
The potential protective effect of OT on a stress-aggravated colitis model in rats and the involvement of OT receptors were evaluated. Holeboard test performances of Sprague-Dawley rats were videotaped for 5min to evaluate their exploratory behavior as indices of anxiety levels. A subgroup of rats was exposed to a 30-min psychological stress procedure, "water avoidance stress", for 5 consecutive days. Colitis was induced by intracolonic administration of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS, 30mg/ml), while the sham group was administered with intracolonic saline. Either OT (0.5mg/kg/day; subcutaneously) or OT + OT receptor antagonist atosiban, was given (1mg/kg/day; intraperitoneally) for 3 consecutive days after colitis induction. On the third day, holeboard tests were performed again and the rats were decapitated. Macroscopic lesions were scored and the degree of oxidant damage was evaluated by colonic myeloperoxidase activity (MPO), malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels, and by histological analysis. Colitis induction inhibited exploratory behavior, indicating increased anxiety level, while exposure to stress further exaggerated the degree of anxiety. Macroscopic scores as well as MDA and MPO levels reveal...Continue Reading
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