Effects of the oxytocin fragment prolyl-leucyl-glycinamide on sexual behavior in the rat.

Prolyl-leucyl-glycinamide (PLG), a natural brain peptide, is identical in structure to the C-terminal of oxytocin. Moreover, PLG and oxytocin can act as opiate antagonists. Evidence that opiates and oxytocin have significant influences on reproductive behavior suggests that PLG may also be effective. Morphine and/or PLG were administered intraperitoneally to male and female rats and sexual behavior was observed. PLG (0.1-10 mg/kg) was found to facilitate female sexual behavior in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, the ability of PLG to facilitate female receptivity was found to be progesterone dependent. In Experiment 3, tyrosine-prolyl-leucyl-glycinamide, a putative precursor to PLG, failed to facilitate lordosis. In Experiment 4, PLG failed to facilitate male sexual behavior. In Experiments 5 and 6, PLG did not affect morphine-induced inhibition of either male or female sexual behavior. These data suggest that PLG differentially affects female receptivity and male sexual behavior. The current results support the hypothesis that PLG is an active metabolite of oxytocin in the female, but do not provide evidence that PLG functions as an opiate antagonist of sexual behavior.