Oxytocin and the warm outer glow: Thermoregulatory deficits cause huddling abnormalities in oxytocin-deficient mouse pups
Oxytocin and the warm outer glow: Thermoregulatory deficits cause huddling abnormalities in oxytocin-deficient mouse pups
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DOI：
10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.12.007
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发表时间：
2018-02-01
影响因子：
3.5
通讯作者：
Alberts, Jeffrey R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Harshaw, Christopher;Leffel, Joseph K.;Alberts, Jeffrey R.
催产素是一种社交和生殖激素，在包括体温调节在内的一系列体内平衡过程中也起着关键作用。在这里，我们研究了催产素（OT）在8天大的（PD8） OT“击倒”（OTKO）小鼠幼崽中作为棕色脂肪组织（BAT）产热、冷诱导蜷缩和热趋向性中介的作用。我们测试了OTKO和野生型（WT）幼鼠，每组6只，将它们暴露在一段时间的环境温暖（类似于35摄氏度）中，然后是一段时间的寒冷（类似于21.5摄氏度）。无论是单独与其他OTKO幼崽挤在一起，还是与WT幼崽挤在一起，OTKO幼崽的BAT产热能力都有所降低，并且在寒冷挑战时明显更冷。OTKO幼崽在冷却过程中的凝聚力也明显低于WT幼崽，这表明体温调节缺陷导致OTKO幼崽接触异常。为了进一步探讨这个问题，我们检查了四只OTKO或WT幼崽的个体和群体的热亲和性，这些幼崽被放置在温跃层的冷端，并允许它们自由移动2小时。当单独测试时，雄性OTKO幼崽表现出异常的热亲和性，在2小时的测试中，它们需要更长的时间才能向上移动温跃层，并在明显低于WT幼崽的温度下稳定下来。因此，OTKO小鼠幼崽似乎在产热和耐热性方面都有缺陷——后者是雄性特有的缺陷。我们的研究结果增加了越来越多的工作，表明OT在体温调节中起着关键作用，也突出了小型哺乳动物（如小鼠）的社会和体温调节过程的纠缠。
Oxytocin is a social and reproductive hormone that also plays critical roles in a range of homeostatic processes, including thermoregulation. Here, we examine the role of oxytocin (OT) as a mediator of brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis, cold-induced huddling, and thermotaxis in eight-day-old (PD8) OT 'knock out' (OTKO) mouse pups. We tested OTKO and wildtype (WT) pups in single- and mixed-genotype groups of six, exposing these to a period of ambient warmth (similar to 35 degrees C) followed by a period of cold (similar to 21.5 degrees C). Whether huddling exclusively with other OTKO or alongside WT pups, OTKO pups showed reduced BAT thermogenesis and were significantly cooler when cold-challenged. Huddles of OTKO pups were also significantly less cohesive than WT huddles during cooling, suggesting that thermoregulatory deficits contribute to contact abnormalities in OTKO pups. To further explore this issue, we examined thermotaxis in individuals and groups of four OTKO or WT pups placed on the cool end of a thermocline and permitted to freely locomote for 2 h. When tested individually, male OTKO pups displayed abnormal thermotaxis, taking significantly longer to move up the thermocline and settling upon significantly lower temperatures than WT pups during the 2 h test. OTKO mouse pups thus appear to have deficits in both thermogenesis and thermotaxis-the latter deficit being specific to males. Our results add to a growing body of work indicating that OT plays critical roles in thermoregulation and also highlight the entanglement of social and thermoregulatory processes in small mammals such as mice.