Peptide Monographs

Oxytocin and Vasopressin side by side

Oxytocin and Vasopressin are both indexed under Endocrine and immune signalling peptides. Every cell below carries the record it came from, and an axis with no retrieved value reads Unknown rather than being filled by inference.

Summary

The two posterior pituitary nonapeptides differ at two residues and share much of their retrieved literature: the cited 2008 Science and 2011 Nature Reviews Neuroscience papers treat them together as social neuropeptides. Both names returned FDA application records, recorded on their pages.

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Side by side

Curated comparison axes for Oxytocin and Vasopressin
AxisOxytocinVasopressin
Reported mechanismA posterior pituitary nonapeptide acting at the oxytocin receptor; the retrieved records report central effects on social cognition and fear circuitry.[3, 10]A posterior pituitary nonapeptide acting at vasopressin receptors; the retrieved records report V2-receptor mediated aquaporin translocation in the kidney and central roles in social behaviour.[4, 21]
Molecular formulaC43H66N12O12S2[6]C46H65N15O12S2[16]
Molecular weight1007.2 g/mol[6]1084.2 g/mol[16]
FDA application registerA query of the FDA Drugs@FDA application register on 2026-10-09 returned 3 application record(s) for this compound name (including ANDA200219, NDA018248, NDA018261, marketed as OXYTOCIN, PITOCIN). Material supplied as a research chemical is not the subject of those applications and is not an FDA-approved product.[7]A query of the FDA Drugs@FDA application register on 2026-10-09 returned 10 application record(s) for this compound name (including ANDA211857, ANDA216963, ANDA212944, NDA212593, NDA217569, marketed as VASOPRESSIN, VASOPRESSIN IN DEXTROSE 5%, VASOPRESSIN IN SODIUM CHLORIDE 0.9%). Material supplied as a research chemical is not the subject of those applications and is not an FDA-approved product.[17]

Where the two literatures diverge

Peripheral roles diverge. The cited 2001 Physiological Reviews article covers the oxytocin receptor system, while the cited 1995 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper reports vasopressin-induced aquaporin translocation in the kidney collecting duct. The clinical records diverge likewise, with the cited 2008 New England Journal of Medicine septic shock trial on the vasopressin side and social cognition studies on the oxytocin side.

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Where this page sits

Full pages: Oxytocin and Vasopressin.

Shared class: Endocrine and immune signalling peptides.

All side-by-side pages: index.

Sources

  1. Oxytocin, vasopressin, and the neurogenetics of sociality. Science (New York, N.Y.) (2008). pmid:18988842
  2. Oxytocin and vasopressin in the human brain: social neuropeptides for translational medicine. Nature reviews. Neuroscience (2011). pmid:21852800
  3. The oxytocin receptor system: structure, function, and regulation. Physiological reviews (2001). pmid:11274341
  4. Vasopressin increases water permeability of kidney collecting duct by inducing translocation of aquaporin-CD water channels to plasma membrane. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (1995). pmid:7532304
  5. Vasopressin versus norepinephrine infusion in patients with septic shock. The New England journal of medicine (2008). pmid:18305265
  6. PubChem Compound Summary for CID 439302, Oxytocin. PubChem, National Library of Medicine (2026). pubchem:439302
  7. Drugs@FDA application register query for this compound, 3 application(s) returned: ANDA200219, NDA018248, NDA018261. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA drugsfda endpoint (2026). fda:oxytocin
  8. The Oxytocin Receptor: From Intracellular Signaling to Behavior. Physiological reviews (2018). pmid:29897293
  9. Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature (2005). pmid:15931222
  10. Oxytocin modulates neural circuitry for social cognition and fear in humans. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience (2005). pmid:16339042
  11. Social support and oxytocin interact to suppress cortisol and subjective responses to psychosocial stress. Biological psychiatry (2003). pmid:14675803
  12. Oxytocin improves "mind-reading" in humans. Biological psychiatry (2007). pmid:17137561
  13. Social effects of oxytocin in humans: context and person matter. Trends in cognitive sciences (2011). pmid:21696997
  14. Evoked axonal oxytocin release in the central amygdala attenuates fear response. Neuron (2012). pmid:22325206
  15. Social reward requires coordinated activity of nucleus accumbens oxytocin and serotonin. Nature (2013). pmid:24025838
  16. PubChem Compound Summary for CID 644077, Argipressin. PubChem, National Library of Medicine (2026). pubchem:644077
  17. Drugs@FDA application register query for this compound, 10 application(s) returned: ANDA211857, ANDA216963, ANDA212944, NDA212593, NDA217569. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA drugsfda endpoint (2026). fda:vasopressin
  18. Tonic vasomotor control by the rostral ventrolateral medulla: effect of electrical or chemical stimulation of the area containing C1 adrenaline neurons on arterial pressure, heart rate, and plasma catecholamines and vasopressin. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience (1984). pmid:6699683
  19. Assay for the measurement of copeptin, a stable peptide derived from the precursor of vasopressin. Clinical chemistry (2006). pmid:16269513
  20. Tolvaptan, a selective oral vasopressin V2-receptor antagonist, for hyponatremia. The New England journal of medicine (2006). pmid:17105757
  21. A role for central vasopressin in pair bonding in monogamous prairie voles. Nature (1993). pmid:8413608
  22. Vasopressin and oxytocin release within the brain: a dynamic concept of multiple and variable modes of neuropeptide communication. Frontiers in neuroendocrinology (2004). pmid:15589267
  23. The challenge of translation in social neuroscience: a review of oxytocin, vasopressin, and affiliative behavior. Neuron (2010). pmid:20346754
  24. Balance of brain oxytocin and vasopressin: implications for anxiety, depression, and social behaviors. Trends in neurosciences (2012). pmid:22974560

On each stated value was matched to the record cited for it. That is record matching, not an appraisal of the research. Compiled and checked by: Peptide Monographs editorial desk. No qualified clinical reviewer.

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