The central interaction of relaxin with oxytocin

TL;DRAbstract

This dissertation is an effort to further define the central relationship of oxytocin (OT) and relaxin. The enclosed experiments have used rats and pigs to study this relationship. The first study looked at the effect of relaxin on the secretion of oxytocin and prolactin in pregnant gilts. Intravenous administration of relaxin appeared to mildly increase the circulating oxytocin and prolactin in pigs at midgestation, but had no effect in late gestational gilts. However, removal of endogenous relaxin in late gestational gilts did cause a large secretion of oxytocin and a mild release of prolactin, followed by a rapid return to baseline values for both hormones. This may indicate that relaxin acts to prevent the premature release of oxytocin in late gestation. The second study looked at the effect of relaxin on the activity of oxytocinergic cells in the hypothalamus of late pregnant rats following intravenous administration of relaxin. Cellular activation was visualized using the immunoh

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