| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Regular Article |
a Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
ABSTRACT
The relaxin knockout (rlx -/-) mouse was used to assess the effect, during pregnancy, of relaxin with regard to water, collagen content, growth, and morphology of the nipple (N), vagina (V), uterus, cervix (C), pubic symphysis (PS), and mammary gland (MG). The results presented here indicate that during pregnancy, relaxin increases the growth of the N, C, V, and PS. Large increases in water content in the PS (20%) occurred in pregnant (Day 18.5) wild-type (rlx +/+) mice but not in rlx -/- animals. This indicates that in the PS, relaxin might increase the concentration of a water-retaining extracellular matrix component (hyaluronate). In the pregnant rlx +/+ mouse, collagen content decreased significantly in the N and V but not in other tissues. There were no significant changes in the rlx -/- mouse. This contrasts with findings in the rat, in which relaxin has been found to cause decreases in collagen concentrations in the V, C, and PS. Histological analysis showed that the collagen stain was more condensed in the tissues (V, C, PS, N, and MG) of rlx -/- mice than in those of rlx +/+ mice. This phenomenon indicates that the failure of collagen degradation and lack of growth in the N underlie the inability of the rlx -/- mice to feed their young, as reported previously. Vaginal and cervical luminal epithelia, which proliferated markedly in the rlx +/+ pregnant mice, remained relatively atrophic in the rlx -/- mice. As proliferation and differentiation of uterine and vaginal epithelia are thought to be induced by a paracrine stromal factor that acts upon estrogen stimulation, our results indicate that relaxin may be this paracrine factor.
First decision: 25 October 1999.
1 Supported by a grant (983001) from the National Health and Medical Research Council to the Howard Florey Institute. L.Z. is supported by an Overseas Postgraduate Research Scholarship and University of Melbourne Postgraduate Research Scholarship.
2 Correspondence. FAX: 61 3 9348 1707; mwc{at}hfi.unimelb.edu.au
3 Current address: Department of Dermatology, Stanford University & Molecular Medicine Research Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043.
4 Current address: Department of Biochemistry, Leicester University, Leicester, United Kingdom.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  L. Yao, A. I. Agoulnik, P. S. Cooke, D. D. Meling, and O. D. Sherwood Relaxin Acts on Stromal Cells to Promote Epithelial and Stromal Proliferation and Inhibit Apoptosis in the Mouse Cervix and Vagina Endocrinology, May 1, 2008; 149(5): 2072 - 2079. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. S. Samuel, S. G. Royce, M. D. Burton, C. Zhao, G. W. Tregear, and M. L. K. Tang Relaxin Plays an Important Role in the Regulation of Airway Structure and Function Endocrinology, September 1, 2007; 148(9): 4259 - 4266. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T.-Y. Ho, W. Yan, and C. A. Bagnell Relaxin-induced matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression is associated with activation of the NF-{kappa}B pathway in human THP-1 cells J. Leukoc. Biol., May 1, 2007; 81(5): 1303 - 1310. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. G. Drewes, H. Yanagisawa, B. Starcher, I. Hornstra, K. Csiszar, S. I. Marinis, P. Keller, and R. A. Word Pelvic Organ Prolapse in Fibulin-5 Knockout Mice: Pregnancy-Induced Changes in Elastic Fiber Homeostasis in Mouse Vagina Am. J. Pathol., February 1, 2007; 170(2): 578 - 589. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. A. Daucher, K. A. Clark, D. B. Stolz, L. A. Meyn, and P. A. Moalli Adaptations of the Rat Vagina in Pregnancy to Accommodate Delivery Obstet. Gynecol., January 1, 2007; 109(1): 128 - 135. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. J. Scott, S. Layfield, Y. Yan, S. Sudo, A. J. W. Hsueh, G. W. Tregear, and R. A. D. Bathgate Characterization of Novel Splice Variants of LGR7 and LGR8 Reveals That Receptor Signaling Is Mediated by Their Unique Low Density Lipoprotein Class A Modules J. Biol. Chem., November 17, 2006; 281(46): 34942 - 34954. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 W. Yan, P. L Ryan, F. F Bartol, and C. A Bagnell Uterotrophic effects of relaxin related to age and estrogen receptor activation in neonatal pigs. Reproduction, May 1, 2006; 131(5): 943 - 950. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. A. Bathgate, R. Ivell, B. M. Sanborn, O. D. Sherwood, and R. J. Summers International Union of Pharmacology LVII: Recommendations for the Nomenclature of Receptors for Relaxin Family Peptides. Pharmacol. Rev., March 1, 2006; 58(1): 7 - 31. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. Mookerjee, N. R. Solly, S. G. Royce, G. W. Tregear, C. S. Samuel, and M. L. K. Tang Endogenous Relaxin Regulates Collagen Deposition in an Animal Model of Allergic Airway Disease Endocrinology, February 1, 2006; 147(2): 754 - 761. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Anderson, N. Brown, M. S. Mahendroo, and J. Reese Utilization of Different Aquaporin Water Channels in the Mouse Cervix during Pregnancy and Parturition and in Models of Preterm and Delayed Cervical Ripening Endocrinology, January 1, 2006; 147(1): 130 - 140. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Feng, N. V. Bogatcheva, A. A. Kamat, A. Truong, and A. I. Agoulnik Endocrine Effects of Relaxin Overexpression in Mice Endocrinology, January 1, 2006; 147(1): 407 - 414. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. S. Samuel Relaxin: Antifibrotic Properties and Effects in Models of Disease Clin. Med. Res., November 1, 2005; 3(4): 241 - 249. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L. J. PARRY, J. T. McGUANE, H. M. GEHRING, I. G. T. KOSTIC, and A. L. SIEBEL Mechanisms of Relaxin Action in the Reproductive Tract: Studies in the Relaxin-Deficient (Rlx-/-) Mouse Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., May 1, 2005; 1041(1): 91 - 103. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. S. SAMUEL, C. ZHAO, R. A.D. BATHGATE, X.-J. DU, R. J. SUMMERS, E. P. AMENTO, L. L. WALKER, M. MCBURNIE, L. ZHAO, and G. W. TREGEAR The Relaxin Gene-Knockout Mouse: A Model of Progressive Fibrosis Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., May 1, 2005; 1041(1): 173 - 181. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. A. BAGNELL, W. YAN, A. A. WILEY, and F. F. BARTOL Effects of Relaxin on Neonatal Porcine Uterine Growth and Development Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., May 1, 2005; 1041(1): 248 - 255. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Y. T. HSU, J. SEMYONOV, J.-I. PARK, and C. L. CHANG Evolution of the Signaling System in Relaxin-Family Peptides Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., May 1, 2005; 1041(1): 520 - 529. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. A. Kamat, S. Feng, N. V. Bogatcheva, A. Truong, C. E. Bishop, and A. I. Agoulnik Genetic Targeting of Relaxin and Insulin-Like Factor 3 Receptors in Mice Endocrinology, October 1, 2004; 145(10): 4712 - 4720. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 O. D. Sherwood Relaxin's Physiological Roles and Other Diverse Actions Endocr. Rev., April 1, 2004; 25(2): 205 - 234. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. A. M. Krajnc-Franken, A. J. M. van Disseldorp, J. E. Koenders, S. Mosselman, M. van Duin, and J. A. Gossen Impaired Nipple Development and Parturition in LGR7 Knockout Mice Mol. Cell. Biol., January 15, 2004; 24(2): 687 - 696. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. D. Silvertown, B. J. Geddes, and A. J. S. Summerlee Adenovirus-Mediated Expression of Human Prorelaxin Promotes the Invasive Potential of Canine Mammary Cancer Cells Endocrinology, August 1, 2003; 144(8): 3683 - 3691. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 X.-J. Du, C. S Samuel, X.-M. Gao, L. Zhao, L. J Parry, and G. W Tregear Increased myocardial collagen and ventricular diastolic dysfunction in relaxin deficient mice: a gender-specific phenotype Cardiovasc Res, February 1, 2003; 57(2): 395 - 404. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Binder, Th. Hagemann, B. Husen, M. Schulz, and A. Einspanier Relaxin enhances in-vitro invasiveness of breast cancer cell lines by up-regulation of matrix metalloproteases Mol. Hum. Reprod., September 1, 2002; 8(9): 789 - 796. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Hombach-Klonisch, S. Seeger, G. Tscheudschilsuren, J. Buchmann, B. Huppertz, G. Seliger, B. Fischer, and T. Klonisch Cellular localization of human relaxin-like factor in the cyclic endometrium and placenta Mol. Hum. Reprod., April 1, 2001; 7(4): 349 - 356. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
