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An overview of the oxytocin-oxytocin receptor signaling network

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Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling Aims and scope

Abstract

Oxytocin, a nine amino acid long neuropeptide hormone, is synthesized in the hypothalamus and stored and released from the neural lobe of the pituitary gland. Although commonly known for its central role in the regulation of parturition and lactation, oxytocin signaling also plays a key role in modulating social behavior, evoking contentment, initiating maternal behavior, inducing trust, generosity and bonding in humans and animals. Oxytocin signaling can prove to be of great importance in therapeutics and drug targeting because of its diverse range of actions. However, a well annotated map of oxytocin signaling pathway is currently lacking in the publicly available pathway resources. Therefore, we systematically curated the available signaling information of oxytocin from published literature and collated the data to develop a more complete map. We cataloged 66 molecules belonging to oxytocin signaling pathway, which included 9 protein-protein interactions, 39 post-translational modifications, 14 protein translocation events and 22 activation/inhibition events. Further, Oxytocin signaling network data is made freely available to academic fraternity by integrating this into NetPath (http://www.netpath.org/), a freely available human signaling pathway resource developed previously by our group.

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Fig. 1

Abbreviations

OXT:

Oxytocin

OXTR:

Oxytocin receptor

CNS:

Central nervous system

GPCR:

G-Protein coupled receptor

PTMs:

Post-translational modifications

PPIs:

Protein-protein interactions

BioPAX:

Biological pathway exchange

SBML:

Systems biology markup language

PSI-MI:

Proteomics standards initiative for molecular interaction

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India for research support to the Institute of Bioinformatics (IOB), Bangalore. We thank the “Infosys Foundation” for research support to IOB. OC, PM and LG are recipients of INSPIRE Fellowship from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. KP is a recipient of Junior Research Fellowship from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India. AS is a recipient of Senior Research Fellowship from the University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of India. JA is a recipient of Senior Research Fellowship from the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Technology Park, Institute of Bioinformatics, Bangalore, 560066, India

    Oishi Chatterjee, Apeksha Sahu, Lathika Gopalakrishnan, Praseeda Mol, Jayshree Advani & T. S. Keshava Prasad

  2. Molecular Endocrinology, National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Parel, Mumbai, 400012, India

    Krutika Patil & Srabani Mukherjee

  3. Bioinformatics Centre, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605014, India

    Apeksha Sahu

  4. Manipal University, Madhav Nagar, Manipal, 576 104, India

    Jayshree Advani

  5. Department of Neurochemistry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, 560029, India

    Rita Christopher

  6. YU-IOB Center for Systems Biology and Molecular Medicine, Yenepoya University, Mangalore, 575018, India

    T. S. Keshava Prasad

  7. NIMHANS-IOB Proteomics and Bioinformatics Laboratory, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, 560029, India

    T. S. Keshava Prasad

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  1. Oishi Chatterjee
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  2. Krutika Patil
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  3. Apeksha Sahu
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  7. Srabani Mukherjee
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  8. Rita Christopher
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  9. T. S. Keshava Prasad
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Correspondence to T. S. Keshava Prasad.

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The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.

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Oishi Chatterjee and Krutika Patil contributed equally to this work.

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Chatterjee, O., Patil, K., Sahu, A. et al. An overview of the oxytocin-oxytocin receptor signaling network. J. Cell Commun. Signal. 10, 355–360 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12079-016-0353-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12079-016-0353-7

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