RELAXIN IS A POLYPEPTIDE HORMONE structurally related to insulin and the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs). There are two biologically active human relaxins, H1 and H2. Both are expressed in the decidua, placenta, and prostate gland. In corpus luteum, which is the main source of circulating relaxin, only the H2 form is expressed. The two isoforms differ in the half-life of their mRNAs (7). Rel...

OBJECTIVES - Relaxin induces the matrix metalloproteinase MMP-1 (collagenase-1) in TMJ fibrocartilaginous cells, and this response is potentiated by beta-estradiol. We identified the MMP-1 promoter sites and transcription factors that are induced by relaxin with or without beta-estradiol in fibrocartilaginous cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS - Early passage cells were transiently transfected with th...

The hormone relaxin has been shown to cause coronary vasodilation and to prevent ischemia/reperfusion-induced cardiac injury in rodents. This study provides evidence that relaxin, used as an adjunctive drug to coronary reperfusion, reduces the functional, biochemical, and histopathological signs of myocardial injury in an in vivo swine model of heart ischemia/reperfusion, currently used to test...

Fibrosis (organ scarring) is a hallmark of many forms of cardiovascular and renal disease, and causes organ dysfunction and structural changes when normal tissue is replaced with scar tissue; the accumulation of scar tissue being a leading cause of death around the world. Despite deep organ scarring potentially existing in many forms (including myocardial and vascular sclerosis, renal interstit...

Epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin), a member of the cadherin family of calcium-dependent adhesion molecules, is present in reproductive tissues. Relaxin, a hormone important for uterine and cervical growth in pigs, increases the expression of E-cadherin in the MCF-7 mammary epithelial cell line. The objective of this study was to characterize the expression of E-cadherin during relaxin-induced gr...

The biotin-avidin immunoperoxidase staining method and antisera against highly purified porcine relaxin were utilized to localize relaxin in the male genital tract. Formalin-fixed tissue specimens from the prostate gland, the testis, epididymis, vas deferens and the seminal vesicle were studied. Specific relaxin immunoactivity was seen in the glandular epithelium of the prostate and also in the...

In primate pregnancy, circulating relaxin, solely a product of the corpus luteum, peaks in the first trimester of pregnancy then declines and levels off for the remainder of pregnancy. Relaxin actions in pregnancy include increasing cervical pro-MMP-1 and pro-MMP-3 and decreasing TIMP-1, changes which soften the cervix. Relaxin, from early pregnancy, increases endometrial natural killer cells, ...

Relaxin-3 is a neuropeptide belonging to the relaxin/insulin superfamily. Studies using rodents have revealed that relaxin-3 is predominantly expressed in neurons in the nucleus incertus of the pons, projecting axons to forebrain regions including the hypothalamus. There is evidence that relaxin-3 is involved in several functions, including food intake and stress responses. We generated relaxin...

Hypertension and aging are associated with large artery structural remodeling and stiffening, which are known to increase cardiovascular risk. Relaxin is a peptide hormone with potent antifibrotic action in multiple organs. Although relaxin is able to reduce peripheral vascular resistance and improve arterial compliance in rats, it remains unclear whether the improvement in compliance is indire...

The polypeptide hormone relaxin has antifibrotic effects on a number of tissues, including the liver. Central to the progression of hepatic fibrosis is the transdifferentiation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) from a quiescent state to an activated, myofibroblastic phenotype that secretes fibrillar collagen. Relaxin inhibits markers of HSC activation, but relaxin receptor expression in the liver...