Centro de Investigación Biomédica y Aplicada (CIBAP), Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Santiago 9170022, Chile.
Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Bernardo OHiggins, Santiago 8370993, Chile.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Nov 8;22(21):12077. doi: 10.3390/ijms222112077.
Oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) are hypothalamic neuropeptides classically associated with their regulatory role in reproduction, water homeostasis, and social behaviors. Interestingly, this role has expanded in recent years and has positioned these neuropeptides as therapeutic targets for various neuropsychiatric diseases such as autism, addiction, schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety disorders. Due to the chemical-physical characteristics of these neuropeptides including short half-life, poor blood-brain barrier penetration, promiscuity for AVP and OT receptors (AVP-R, OT-R), novel ligands have been developed in recent decades. This review summarizes the role of OT and AVP in neuropsychiatric conditions, as well as the findings of different OT-R and AVP-R agonists and antagonists, used both at the preclinical and clinical level. Furthermore, we discuss their possible therapeutic potential for central nervous system (CNS) disorders.
催产素（OT）和加压素（AVP）是下丘脑神经肽，经典地与它们在生殖、水稳态和社会行为中的调节作用相关联。有趣的是，近年来，这一作用已经扩展，使这些神经肽成为治疗自闭症、成瘾、精神分裂症、抑郁症和焦虑症等各种神经精神疾病的靶点。由于这些神经肽包括半衰期短、血脑屏障通透性差、对 AVP 和 OT 受体（AVP-R、OT-R）的混杂性等化学物理特性，近几十年来已经开发出了新型配体。本综述总结了 OT 和 AVP 在神经精神疾病中的作用，以及不同的 OT-R 和 AVP-R 激动剂和拮抗剂的研究结果，这些结果在临床前和临床水平都有报道。此外，我们还讨论了它们在中枢神经系统（CNS）疾病中的潜在治疗潜力。
