Neuropituitary Hormones in Metabolic Disorders

Dear Colleagues,

Oxytocin and vasopressin are highly conserved 9-amino acid neuropeptides differing by only two amino acids. Oxytocin and vasopressin are produced in overlapping regions of the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus and secreted by parvocellular neurons directly into multiple brain regions that simultaneously project both to forebrain regions and to the posterior pituitary gland, where they are stored until release to the peripheral circulation. Oxytocin receptors and vasopressin receptors are structurally similar, and both neuropeptides can bind to both receptors but with different affinities. Oxytocin is known for its effects of uterus contractility and lactation while vasopressin has antidiuretic action on the kidney and mediates vasoconstriction of the peripheral vessels. Overall, oxytocin and vasopressin exert central and peripheral effects that can be distinct, opposing, or complementary. However, about 20 years ago, genetic knockout mice lacking oxytocin or oxytocin receptor genes shed new light on the physiological functions of the oxytocinergic system. Mice lacking oxytocin developed late-onset obesity, abnormal thermoregulation, metabolic syndrome, and sarcopenia despite normal food consumption and a low sympathetic tone. These discoveries established that beyond the classical role of oxytocin in parturition and lactation oxytocin has a wide range of physiological functions and oxytocin-deficiency contributes to clinical morbidity. Oxytocin-deficiency causes a series of diseases and this sets the foundation for human research studies aimed at understanding these diseases and the potential of pharmacological treatment with oxytocin. Indeed, some symptoms described in animal models lacking oxytocin resemble the clinical phenotype of patients with hypothalamic pituitary damage supporting recognition of “oxytocin-deficiency as a new clinical condition”. Moreover, an oxytocin-deficient state has been identified in individuals with vasopressin deficiency, and oxytocin administration is currently under investigation for the treatment of central diabetes insipidus. Recent clinical research has focused on the effects of oxytocin administration in clinical conditions such as obesity and diabetes mellitus, sarcopenia and muscle maintenance, autism spectrum disorder, anorexia nervosa, anxiety, and hypothalamic diseases such as Prader–Willi syndrome, as well as in individuals with hypopituitarism due to brain tumours located in the hypothalamic and pituitary regions, such as craniopharyngioma. The aim of this Special Issue is to collect original research articles and review articles that explain and summarize current knowledge on the oxytocin and vasopressin system and new disorders related to oxytocin deficiency and vasopressin deficiency, together with diagnostic challenges and therapeutic avenues to advance the field.

Dr. Claudia Camerino
Guest Editor

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