The oxytocin so-called "love and trust" hormone has been found in an odd form in a monkey species.
According to the researcher at Stanford University this is the first time oxytocin has been reported to be different in any mammal ever studied.
Oxytocin is a brain hormone that regulates parts of mammalian reproduction, including lactation and labor, but also is involved in social behaviors such as bonding between partners and mother-and-child.
The hormone is released by a part of the brain called the pituitary gland and travels throughout the system. It was widely thought to be exactly the same in all mammals, since it plays such an important part in reproduction and social bonding.
In the research it was found that the gene for oxytocin was different than any other mammal. They compared this new sequence with several other related species of New World monkey, including lab models like rhesus and capuchins. Many of these New World monkeys have this slightly different copy of the gene, which results in the gene producing a slightly different active protein.
One of the amino acids, the molecules that make up proteins, is different. This amino acid is bigger, which might change the protein's structure or action, though the monkeys display normal social behaviors and have similar reactions to the traditional type of oxytocin as other mammals.
Researchers know that the monkeys react to the traditional form of oxytocin because they've studied its effects on these monkeys in the lab. It's possible that both the novel form and the traditional form act the same way in the monkeys, but researchers aren't sure.
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