Oxytocin improves proliferation and neural differentiation of adipose tissue-derived stem cells

•SVF cells and cultured ADSCs expressed oxytocin and oxytocin receptor.•ADSC-derived neurons expressed some neural-specific genes and proteins.•Oxytocin had a stimulatory effect on proliferation of differentiating ADSCs.•Treatment of the cells with oxytocin induced neural differentiation.•Oxytocin upregulated the expression of oxytocin receptor in the cells.

The neurohypophyseal hormone oxytocin plays a role in stimulation of neurogenesis in the adult brain. However, the exact role of oxytocin in neural development is still not well understood. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of oxytocin on neural differentiation of mouse adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs). For this purpose, ADSCs were cultured in a medium containing Knockout™ Serum Replacement (KoSR) and treated with different concentrations of oxytocin at the first or eighth day of differentiation. Two weeks after neural induction, ADSCs expressed several early and late neuron-specific genes and proteins. MTT assay and cell cycle analysis revealed a stimulatory effect of oxytocin on viability and proliferation of differentiating ADSCs. As detected by quantitative real-time PCR, treatment of the ADSCs with low concentrations of oxytocin induced neurogenesis. Oxytocin treatment also upregulated the expression of oxytocin receptor mRNA. These results demonstrated for the first time that oxytocin treatment can promote neural differentiation of the ADSCs in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. Oxytocin has a significant role in neurogenesis, and this may have implications in regeneration of adult neurons.