The so-called “love hormone,” oxytocin, is not only involved in strengthening the mother-child relationship and regulating social bonding.
It has also been associated with mental health disorders like autism, Asperger’s syndrome, social anxiety, and addiction vulnerability.
Furthermore, oxytocin triggers the birth process and is involved in many aspects of sexual reproduction, as well as corresponding disorders.
The hormone exerts all these effects by binding to the oxytocin receptor. Substances that target the oxytocin receptor thus have great therapeutic potential for a variety of diseases.
Since its discovery nearly 30 years ago, researchers have tried to develop drugs that bind specifically to the oxytocin receptor.
However, conducting such experiments has proved to be very difficult. Except for the hormone oxytocin itself, hardly any drug targeting the oxytocin receptor has been approved for clinical use.
In a new study, researchers have found the detailed 3D structure of the oxytocin receptor bound to a drug called retosiban, which was developed for the suppression of preterm labor.
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Zurich.
The new findings might also be directly applicable to the very closely related vasopressin receptors.
The hormone vasopressin controls the water content of body fluids and the blood pressure, and its receptors are therefore drug targets for the treatment of many diseases, from kidney disease to heart failure.
Just like the oxytocin receptor, the vasopressin receptors have also been implicated in autism spectrum disorders.
The team says the work could thus boost the development of new drugs for a very broad range of widespread and severe human diseases.
One author of the study is Andreas Plückthun, a professor at the Department of Biochemistry.
The study is published in Science Advances.
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