Experiments in which the receptor for the peptide hormone oxytocin was knocked out selectively in bone-forming and bone-resorbing cells of mice revealed that the hormone not only helps promote bone synthesis but also curbs bone loss during pregnancy and lactation--conditions in which fetal calcium demand is relatively high; despite suppressing the transformation of white fat into energy-burning beige fat in adipocytes, oxytocin administration reduced total body fat in mice, likely through the hormone's action on oxytocin-responsive neurons, suggesting that oxytocin and its receptor might represent potential drug targets for osteoporosis and obesity, according to a study.
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Article #19-13611: "Oxytocin regulates body composition," by Li Sun et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Maria New, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY; e-mail: maria.new@mssm.edu
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences