oxytocin and Hypersensitivity

Numerous studies have demonstrated that acute psychological stress, induced by the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) paradigm, affects salivary cortisol secretion and self-reported stress measures including anxiety. Allergy has been related to altered cortisol responsiveness and increased stress vulnerability. Here, we investigated acute stress responses and emotion regulation strategies in cohorts of allergic and healthy individuals. Groups of allergics and healthy individuals were subjected to the TSST and experienced levels of stress and anxiety, as well as emotion regulation strategies, were assessed. Cortisol and oxytocin concentrations were measured in saliva or plasma. The present findings confirm earlier results of altered stress responsiveness in allergic individuals. Acute stress by the TSST evoked higher physiological arousal in allergics by means of salivary cortisol secretion. Allergics also scored higher on emotion suppression. However, individuals who were more likely to use reappraisal recovered more efficiently from the cortisol increase. No such effect for reappraisal was found in the healthy population. No differences in self-reported anxiety and stress emerged between the groups. Plasma oxytocin levels prior to the TSST were significantly higher in allergics. Our data corroborate earlier findings on altered stress susceptibility in allergics. Moreover, we identified differences in emotion regulation and oxytocin secretion which should be further explored. Accounting for the emerging global prevalence of allergy, more in-depth research into the experience of stress, coping strategies and stress-related molecules in allergic people is warranted.Short summaryThis study addressed stress experiences and emotion regulation in allergic and non-allergic adults. Allergics scored higher on emotion suppression, had higher pre-stress concentrations of plasma oxytocin and exhibited a stronger salivary cortisol response to stress than healthy people. The research outcomes indicate that allergic individuals cope less efficiently with acute stress but may benefit from adaptive emotion regulation strategies such as reappraisal.

Topics: Adult; Anxiety; Emotional Regulation; Humans; Hydrocortisone; Hypersensitivity; Oxytocin; Plasma; Saliva; Stress, Psychological

Oxytocin (OT), known for its neurohormonal effects around birth, has recently been suggested for being a critical determinant in neurodevelopmental disorders. This hypothalamic neuropeptide exerts a potent analgesic effect through an action on the nociceptive system. This endogenous control of pain has an important adaptive value but might be altered by early life stress, possibly contributing to its long-term consequences on pain responses and associated comorbidities. We tested this hypothesis using a rat model of neonatal maternal separation (NMS) known to induce long-term consequences on several brain functions including chronic stress, anxiety, altered social behavior, and visceral hypersensitivity. We found that adult rats with a history of NMS were hypersensitive to noxious mechanical/thermal hot stimuli and to inflammatory pain. We failed to observe OT receptor-mediated stress-induced analgesia and OT antihyperalgesia after carrageenan inflammation. These alterations were partially rescued if NMS pups were treated by intraperitoneal daily injection during NMS with OT or its downstream second messenger allopregnanolone. The involvement of epigenetic changes in these alterations was confirmed since neonatal treatment with the histone deacetylase inhibitor SAHA, not only normalized nociceptive sensitivities but also restored OT receptor-mediated stress-induced analgesia and the endogenous antihyperalgesia in inflamed NMS rats. There is growing evidence in the literature that early life stress might impair the nociceptive system ontogeny and function. This study suggests that these alterations might be restored while stimulating OT receptor signaling or histone deacetylase inhibitors, using molecules that are currently available or part of clinical trials for other pathologies.

Topics: Action Potentials; Analgesics; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Antidiuretic Hormone Receptor Antagonists; Carrageenan; Female; Gene Expression Regulation; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors; Hypersensitivity; Male; Maternal Deprivation; Nociception; Oxytocin; Pain; Pain Threshold; Posterior Horn Cells; Pregnancy; Pregnanolone; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Signal Transduction; Vasotocin; Vorinostat

Topics: Animals; Delivery, Obstetric; Female; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Oxytocics; Oxytocin; Pain; Parturition; Peripheral Nerve Injuries

Physical injury, including surgery, can result in chronic pain; yet chronic pain following childbirth, including cesarean delivery in women, is rare. The mechanisms involved in this protection by pregnancy or delivery have not been explored.. We examined the effect of pregnancy and delivery on hypersensitivity to mechanical stimuli of the rat hindpaw induced by peripheral nerve injury (spinal nerve ligation) and after intrathecal oxytocin, atosiban, and naloxone. Additionally, oxytocin concentration in lumbar spinal cerebrospinal fluid was determined.. Spinal nerve ligation performed at mid-pregnancy resulted in similar hypersensitivity to nonpregnant controls, but hypersensitivity partially resolved beginning after delivery. Removal of pups after delivery prevented this partial resolution. Cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of oxytocin were greater in normal postpartum rats prior to weaning. To examine the effect of injury at the time of delivery rather than during pregnancy, spinal nerve ligation was performed within 24 h of delivery. This resulted in acute hypersensitivity that partially resolved over the next 2-3 weeks. Weaning of pups resulted only in a temporary return of hypersensitivity. Intrathecal oxytocin effectively reversed the hypersensitivity following separation of the pups. Postpartum resolution of hypersensitivity was transiently abolished by intrathecal injection of the oxytocin receptor antagonist, atosiban.. These results suggest that the postpartum period rather than pregnancy protects against chronic hypersensitivity from peripheral nerve injury and that this protection may reflect sustained oxytocin signaling in the central nervous system during this period.

Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Hormone Antagonists; Hypersensitivity; Injections, Spinal; Naloxone; Narcotic Antagonists; Oxytocics; Oxytocin; Peripheral Nerve Injuries; Physical Stimulation; Postpartum Period; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Spinal Nerves; Vasotocin; Weaning

We analyzed the clinical course and investigated possible pathophysiologic mechanisms of amniotic fluid embolism.. We carried out a retrospective review of medical records. Forty-six charts were analyzed for 121 separate clinical variables.. Amniotic fluid embolism occurred during labor in 70% of the women, after vaginal delivery in 11%, and during cesarean section after delivery of the infant in 19%. No correlation was seen with prolonged labor or oxytocin use. A significant relation was seen between amniotic fluid embolism and male fetal sex. Forty-one percent of patients gave a history of allergy or atopy. Maternal mortality was 61%, with neurologically intact survival seen in 15% of women. Of fetuses in utero at the time of the event, only 39% survived. Clinical and hemodynamic manifestations were similar to those manifest in anaphylaxis and septic shock.. Intact maternal or fetal survival with amniotic fluid embolism is rare. The striking similarities between clinical and hemodynamic findings in amniotic fluid embolism and both anaphylaxis and septic shock suggest a common pathophysiologic mechanism for all these conditions. Thus the term amniotic fluid embolism appears to be a misnomer.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Anaphylaxis; Chi-Square Distribution; Embolism, Amniotic Fluid; Female; Fetal Death; Fetus; Heart Rate, Fetal; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Male; Obstetric Labor Complications; Oxytocin; Pregnancy; Prognosis; Puerperal Disorders; Registries; Retrospective Studies; Sex Factors; Shock, Septic; Survival Rate; United States

Topics: Humans; Hypersensitivity; Immune System Diseases; Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; Oxytocin

Topics: Humans; Hypersensitivity; Immune System Diseases; Oxytocin; Pituitary Diseases; Pituitary Gland