Induction of uterine activity with oxytocin in late pregnant rats replicates the expression of c-fos in neuroendocrine and brain stem neurons as seen during parturition.

We investigated whether delivery could be induced with pulsatile oxytocin and whether such treatment activated neurons in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and putative afferent neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarii and ventrolateral medulla, as seen during spontaneous parturition. Rats were implanted with a jugular venous cannula 1 day before the expected term and on the next morning were given a pulse of oxytocin or saline every 10 min for 4 h. Pulses of 10 and 20 mU oxytocin induced delivery in 77% (14 of 18) of rats, whereas none of the control animals (0 of 9) gave birth during the treatment. Lower doses of oxytocin were not effective at this time in inducing delivery. Animals were killed either before (prepartum groups) or during (parturient groups) delivery, and the brains were processed for immunocytochemistry. Oxytocin treatment induced Fos expression in SON and brain stem neurons in both parturient rats and rats in which parturition was not induced. Fos expression in all sites was significantly higher than that in control prepartum rats, but was similar in extent and distribution to that in spontaneous parturient rats. In the brain stem, a substantial proportion of Fos-immunoreactive cells contained tyrosine hydroxylase-like immunoreactivity, and the number of these cells was increased in response to oxytocin treatment. As only very few Fos-immunoreactive nuclei in either the SON or the nucleus tractus solitarii were observed in virgin rats injected with oxytocin, we suggest that intermittent oxytocin injections in late pregnant rats induce strong uterine activity, which can stimulate magnocellular and putative afferent neurons even before the expulsion of pups.