Oxytocin, a hormone that is already known for its role in childbirth, milk release, and branch with mother infants, may have a new purpose in breeding mammals. In periods of mother, the hormone may delay the growth of a fetus for days to weeks after conception, shows a new rodent study. According to the authors, findings about the so -called “commitment” can offer new ideas on pregnancy and fertility issues that people face.
Led by NYU Langone Health researchers, the study explored the Diap, in which a fetus temporarily stops from developing early in its development before clinging to the lining of his mother’s womb, a key step that leads to placental formation. Known that appears in species ranging from Armadillos to giant pandas to stamps, the Damn is considered to have evolved to help the expected mothers maintain rare resources (eg breast milk), delaying birth until they have enough to care for their offspring.
Although recent studies have revealed evidence that a form of human commitment can occur, the underlying mechanisms behind it have remained unclear so far.
The findings in mice have shown that one type of stress that can cause the commitment is to produce and release milk (lactation), as it requires a mother to spend physical nutrients on both nursing, already born newborns and those who develop in the womb. The study revealed that the time between conception and birth (pregnancy) – usually 20 days for these animals – delayed about a week in pregnant rodents that had already breastfed a trash.
Furthermore, the research team has shown that this delay has emerged from the increase in oxytocin production, whose levels are known to rise as a mother emulsions. To confirm this role for the hormone, the researchers exposed mouse embryos in the laboratory at a single dose (either 1 micrograms or 10 micrograms) of oxytocin and found that even these small quantities delayed their implantation in the uterus by three days. In addition to the mere cessation of pregnancy, the group found that the chemical hypertensions large enough to imitate the quantities and timetable measured during the nursing caused pregnancy loss in mice in almost all cases.
Our findings shed light on the role of oxytocin in commitment. Because of this new connection, it is likely that abnormalities in the production of this hormone could play roles in infertility, premature or delayed birth and elimination. “
Moses Chao, PhD, co-author study, Professor in Departments of Cell Biology, Neuroscience and Psychiatry, NYU Grossman Medical School
A report on the findings publishes online March 5 in the magazine Scientific progress In a special issue she focused on women’s health.
In another part of the study, the group searched for a mechanism that would allow the embryos to react to an increase in oxytocin. They found that the hormone may be bound by specific proteins called receptors on the surface of a layer of cells known as Trophectoderm, which surrounds the early embryo and eventually forms the placenta.
Specifically, the mouse embryos that were genetically amended to disable oxytocin receptors lived enough to implant on their mother’s placenta with much lower rates than normal embryos. This suggests that the ability to respond to oxytocin spikes and, therefore, to commit to commitment is somewhat important for the survival of developing newborns, says Chao, who plans to consider in more detail this protective function.
“Although they are extremely common, the issues of infertility and development that can arise during pregnancy remain little understandable and can have a constant, devastating impact on their parents and children,” said senior author Robert Froemke. “The deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to these problems can allow experts to deal with them better in the future,” added Froemke, a professor of genetic skirball in the NYU Grossman Medical School Department.
Also, a professor in the Department of Otolorolaryngological Head and Surgery, Froemke says researchers the next plan to examine how cell growth returns after crossing. In addition, the team plans to explore how the commission can affect the health and development of offspring after birth and determine whether and how their discoveries can inform reproductive medicine.
Froemke warns that while the results of the study are very promising, mice and people – and both mammals – have significant differences in their reproductive processes. He adds that current study has not evaluated the role that can play other pregnancy -related hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone. Froemke is also a member of the NYU Grossman Institute of Translation Neuroscience.
The funding for the study is provided by the National Institutes of Health T32MH019524, NS107616 and HD088411.
In addition to Moses and Froemke, other Nyu Langone researchers participating in the study are Luisa Schuster, PhD. Habon Issa, Phd. Janaye Stephens, Bs. Michael Cammer, MFA, Mat; Latika Khatri? Maria Alvarado-Corres? Jie Tong, Phd. Orlando Aristizábal, mphil; Youssef Wadghiri, Phd; Sang Yong Kim, Phd. Catherine Pei-Ju Lu, Phd. and Silvana Valtcheva, Phd. Jessica Minder, PhD, a former postgraduate student at Nyu Langone and a current postdoctoral collaborator at the University of California Berkeley, served as lead author of the study.
Source:
Magazine report:
Minder, JL, et al. (2025) Oxytocin causes fetal commission. Scientific progress. doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adt1763.
