Journal article
Relaxin mediates uterine artery compliance during pregnancy and increases uterine blood flow
Lenka A Vodstrcil, Marianne Tare, Jacqueline Novak, Nicoleta Dragomir, Rolando J Ramirez, Mary E Wlodek, Kirk P Conrad, Laura J Parry
FASEB JOURNAL | FEDERATION AMER SOC EXP BIOL | Published : 2012
DOI: 10.1096/fj.12-210567
Abstract
Normal pregnancy involves dramatic remodeling of the uterine vasculature, with abnormal vascular adaptations contributing to pregnancy diseases such as preeclampsia. The peptide hormone relaxin is important for the renal and systemic hemodynamic adaptations to pregnancy, and has been shown to increase arterial compliance and outward hypertrophic remodeling. Therefore, we investigated the possibility that relaxin acts on its receptor, RXFP1, to mediate uterine artery compliance in late pregnancy and increase uterine blood flow velocity in rats. RXFP1 was predominantly localized to the tunica media vascular smooth muscle cells in the uterine artery, although receptors were also detected in end..
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Awarded by U.S. National Institutes of Health
Awarded by NATIONAL CENTER FOR ADVANCING TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCES
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors thank Prof. O. David Sherwood (University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA) for providing the MCA1, MCAF, and rat RXFP1 antibodies, and for helpful advice with the experimental design. The authors also thank Dr. Elaine Unemori and Dr. Dennis Stewart (Corthera, Inc., San Mateo, CA, USA) for providing the recombinant human relaxin. The authors thank Dr. Jonathan McGuane, Emma Simpson, Kerryn Westcott, Dr. Jill Verlander, and John J. Reho for their valuable contributions to this work. The research was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NH & MRC; M.E.W., L.J.P., M.T.), and The U.S. National Institutes of Health (HL067937; K.P.C.). L.A.V. received a NH&MRC Dora Lush Postgraduate Scholarship, the John and Allan Gilmour Research Award, and an Albert Shimmin Award (Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne).