2. Academic Validation
  3. Oxytocin induces embryonic diapause

Oxytocin induces embryonic diapause

  • Sci Adv. 2025 Mar 7;11(10):eadt1763. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adt1763.
Jessica L Minder 1 2 3 4 5 6 7,  Sarah B Winokur 1 2 3 4 5 6 7,  Janaye Stephens 2 4,  Jie Tong 3 8,  Naomi L Cassel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9,  Luisa Schuster 1 2 4 5 7,  Habon A Issa 1 2 4 7,  Michael Cammer 10,  Latika Khatri 1 2 3 4 5 6 7,  Gaia Moisan 1 2 3 4 5 6 7,  Maria Alvarado-Torres 1 2 3 4 5 6 7,  Orlando Aristizábal 1 11,  Youssef Z Wadghiri 11,  Sang Yong Kim 12,  Silvana Valtcheva 1 2 13,  Catherine Pei-Ju Lu 3 8,  Moses V Chao 1 2 3 4 5 6 7,  Robert C Froemke 1 2 4 5 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
  • 2 Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
  • 3 Department of Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
  • 4 Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
  • 5 Department of Otolaryngology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
  • 6 Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
  • 7 Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
  • 8 Hansjorg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
  • 9 Barnard College, New York, NY 10027, USA.
  • 10 Microscopy Laboratory, Division of Advanced Research Technologies, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
  • 11 Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research, Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
  • 12 Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
  • 13 Institute for Systems Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
PMID: 40043121 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adt1763
Abstract

Embryonic development in many species, including case reports in humans, can be temporarily halted before implantation during a process called diapause. Facultative diapause occurs under conditions of maternal metabolic stress such as nursing. While molecular mechanisms of diapause have been studied, a natural inducing factor has yet to be identified. Here, we show that oxytocin induces embryonic diapause in mice. We show that gestational delays were triggered during nursing or optogenetic stimulation of oxytocin neurons simulating nursing patterns. Mouse blastocysts express oxytocin receptors, and oxytocin induced delayed implantation-like dispersion in cultured embryos. Last, oxytocin receptor-knockout embryos transferred into wild-type surrogates had low survival rates during diapause. Our results indicate that oxytocin coordinates timing of embryonic development with uterine progression through pregnancy, providing an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for ensuring successful reproduction.

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