Oxytocin neurons drive melanocortin circuit maturation via vesicle release during a neonatal critical period
Fig 5
Distribution of oxytocin fibers and expression pattern of oxytocin receptor in the developing hypothalamus.
(A) Description of the animal model and (B) representative images showing immuno- (PS 38 antibody) and genetic (Ot mGFP) labeling of OT neurons and fibers at the levels of the paraventricular nucleus (PVH) and arcuate nucleus (ARH) at P0, P25, and P60. (C, D) Representative images showing oxytocin receptor (Otr) mRNA at the level of (C) the arcuate/ventromedial/dorsomedial nuclei and (D) the paraventricular nucleus of a P10 WT mouse. (E) Relative expression of Otr mRNA in the ARH, VMH, DMH, and PVH of WT mice at P0, P5, P10, P25, and P60 (n = 3-8 animals per group). (F) Representative images and (G) quantification of Otr co-expression in Pomc and Agrp neurons at P0, P5, P10, P25, and P60 (n = 6–8 animals per group). Data are presented as means ± SEM. LHA, lateral hypothalamic area; me, median eminence; SON, supraoptic nucleus. Scale bar 50 μm. The data underlying this Figure can be found in S1 Data. Fig 5A is created in BioRender. Bouret, S. (2025) https://BioRender.com/d5iyc5j.