Oxytocin and cancer: An emerging link

Figure 1 The potential role of oxytocin in various cancers and cell types. Bold font indicates conflicting observations.

Figure 2 Mechanisms of action of oxytocin. Yellow and purple are anti-proliferation (via different subunits), red is proliferation, and blue is smooth muscle contraction. Gαi: Guanine nucleotide binding protein subunit alpha I; Gαs: Guanine nucleotide binding protein subunit alpha s; Gαq: Guanine nucleotide binding protein subunit alpha q; PI3K: Phosphoinositide 3-kinase; PLCβ: Phospholipase beta; Src: Tyrosine protein kinase; ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinase; p21: Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1; ADCY: Adenylate cyclase; cAMP: Cyclic AMP; PKA: Protein kinase A; DAG: Diacylglycerol; PKC: Protein kinase C; Insp3: Inositol triphosphate 3; MLCK: Myosin light chain kinase.