Published Online
on June 24, 2002

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 16, 2002

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Submitted on May 7, 2002
Accepted on May 29, 2002

Is the Pregnancy Hormone Relaxin Also a Vasodilator Peptide Secreted by the Heart?

Carol Fisher MBChB, MRCP, Margaret MacLean BSc, PhD, Ian Morecroft BSc, PhD, Alison Seed MBChB, MRCP, Fiona Johnston , Christopher Hillier BSc, PhD, and John McMurray MD, FRCP, FESC^*

From the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics (C.F., A.S., J.M.) and the Division of Neuroscience and Biomedical Systems (M.M., I.M.), Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK; and the Vascular Assessment Group (F.J., C.H.), Caledonian University, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: j.mcmurray{at}bio.gla.ac.uk.

Background—It has been shown recently that the pregnancy and parturition hormone, relaxin, is secreted by the heart. This study examined the effects of relaxin in small human resistance arteries from the systemic and pulmonary circulations.

Methods and Results—Arteries were obtained from gluteal biopsies and resected lung tissue and studied with the use of wire myography. Cumulative concentration relaxation curves were constructed in systemic arteries with substance P, epoprostenol, atrial natriuretic peptide, and relaxin (concentration range 10^-13 -10^-7M). The maximal responses were 88(±5)%, 67(±10)%, 52(±16)% and 66(±16)%, respectively. Endothelium removal virtually abolished the action of relaxin. Relaxin had no vasodilator effect in pulmonary arteries.

Conclusions—Relaxin is a powerful dilator of systemic resistance arteries secreted by the heart that may contribute to cardiovascular regulation.

Key words: vasodilation • arteries • endothelium • peptides

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