Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jul 12;22(14):7459. doi: 10.3390/ijms22147459.
The oxytocin system plays a role in stress responses and behavior modulation. However, the effects of oxytocin signaling on stress adaptation remain unclear. Here, we demonstrated the roles of oxytocin signaling as a biomarker under stress conditions in the peripheral tissues (the gills) and central nervous system (the brain). All the environmental stressors downregulated the expression of oxytocin receptors in the gills, and the alteration of the expression of oxytocin receptors was also found in the brain after the acidic (AC) and high-ammonia (HA) treatments. The number of oxytocin neurons was increased after double-deionized (DI) treatment. By transgenic line, Tg(oxtl:EGFP), we also investigated the projections of oxytocin neurons and found oxytocin axon innervations in various nuclei that might regulate the anxiety levels and aggressiveness of adult zebrafish under different environmental stresses. The oxytocin system integrates physiological responses and behavioral outcomes to ensure environmental adaptation in adult zebrafish. Our study provides insight into oxytocin signaling as a stress indicator upon environmental stressors.
催产素系统在应激反应和行为调节中发挥作用。然而，催产素信号对应激适应的影响尚不清楚。在这里，我们证明了催产素信号作为应激条件下外周组织（鳃）和中枢神经系统（大脑）中生物标志物的作用。所有环境应激源都下调了鳃中催产素受体的表达，并且在酸性（AC）和高氨（HA）处理后，大脑中也发现了催产素受体表达的改变。双去离子（DI）处理后，催产素神经元的数量增加。通过转基因系 Tg(oxtl:EGFP)，我们还研究了催产素神经元的投射，并发现催产素轴突在各种核中支配着不同环境应激下成年斑马鱼的焦虑水平和攻击性。催产素系统整合了生理反应和行为结果，以确保成年斑马鱼在环境适应中的适应。我们的研究为催产素信号作为环境应激源的应激指标提供了新的见解。
