The role of oxytocin and vasopressin in the pathophysiology of heart failure in pregnancy and in fetal and neonatal life

Abstract

Pregnancy and early life create specific psychosomatic challenges for the mother and child, such as changes in hemodynamics, resetting of the water-electrolyte balance, hypoxia, pain, and stress, that all play an important role in the regulation of the release of oxytocin and vasopressin. Both of these hormones regulate the water-electrolyte balance and cardiovascular functions, maturation of the cardiovascular system, and cardiovascular responses to stress. These aspects may be of particular importance in a state of emergency, such as hypertension in the mother or severe heart failure in the child. In this review, we draw attention to a broad spectrum of actions exerted by oxytocin and vasopressin in the pregnant mother and the offspring during early life. To this end, we discuss the following topics: 1) regulation of the secretion of oxytocin and vasopressin and expression of their receptors in the pregnant mother and child, 2) direct and indirect effects of oxytocin and vasopressin on the cardiovascular system in the healthy mother and fetus, and 3) positive and negative consequences of altered secretion of oxytocin and vasopressin in the mother with cardiovascular pathology and in the progeny with heart failure. The present survey provides evidence that moderate stimulation of the oxytocin and vasopressin receptors plays a beneficial role in the healthy pregnant mother and fetus; however, under pathophysiological conditions the inappropriate action of these hormones exerts several negative effects on the cardiovascular system of the mother and progeny and may potentially contribute to the pathophysiology of heart failure in early life.

Soluble guanylate cyclase stimulation in late gestation does not mitigate asymmetric intrauterine growth restriction or cardiovascular risk induced by placental ischemia in the rat

“…The increase in duration of gestation could also be influenced by uterine sensitivity to oxytocin. In women with PE, oxytocin receptor expression is reduced and sensitivity to oxytocin is decreased in the uteroplacental unit (50,51). Akahoshi et al ( 52) also showed that the contractile response to oxytocin is reduced in mice with PE-like features.…”

The Role of Oxytocin in Cardiovascular Protection

“…As recently discussed, the anti-inflammatory effects of OT have been supported under local and systemic levels (Buemann and Uvnäs-Moberg, 2020). There are recent reviews documenting that OT alleviates these immunoinflammatory abnormalities (Li et al, 2016;Bordt et al, 2019) with three referring to the actions of OT in the cardiovascular system (Reiss et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2019;Szczepanska-Sadowska et al, 2020). We have observed that following MI, rats preconditioned with OT displayed improvement of cardiac contractile function.…”

“…Secondly, NO, a key regulator of cardiac and vascular function, is involved in numerous actions in the heart and vascular beds by OT (Gutkowska et al, 2014). A number of social and reproductive behaviors such as breastfeeding, cutaneous contact between a mother and her infant, and sexual activity either alone with or others are linked to OT sensory stimulation (Buemann and Uvnäs-Moberg, 2020;Szczepanska-Sadowska et al, 2020). In addition, OT release is associated with reduced anxiety, depression, pain, inflammation, a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes (Uvnäs-Moberg et al, 2014).…”

“…In addition to the well-documented roles of OT in classic reproduction functions, evidence suggests that activation of OT and AVP-mediated signaling may benefit cardiovascular function in pregnancy (Szczepanska-Sadowska et al, 2020). It is suggested that stimulation of the OT and AVP receptors in the cardiovascular system protects cardiovascular function in the mother and fetus.…”

Epigenetic Modulation of Vasopressin Expression in Health and Disease

“…However, this was not based upon a direct measurement, as in humans, the short half-life of AVP makes the equimolarly released co-peptin a better biomarker. Similarly, in rats, AVP synthesis already starts during the prenatal life [42], and receptor expression and distribution patterns gradually change during the first period of life [43]. Accordingly, V1a receptor mRNA and ligand-binding capacity can be detected in rat fetus.…”