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Multiple Physiological Effects of Relaxin During Pregnancy

  • Chapter
Endocrinology of Pregnancy

Part of the book series: Contemporary Endocrinology ((COE,volume 9))

Abstract

In 1926, Hisaw (1) discovered relaxin by observing that the injection of serum obtained from pregnant guinea pigs or rabbits into virgin guinea pigs shortly after estrus induced a relaxation of the pubic ligament. Relaxin is produced in the reproductive tract of several laboratory, domestic, and primate species during pregnancy. The source of the relaxin that is secreted into the peripheral blood varies among species; for example, it is the corpora lutea in rats and pigs, the placentae in rabbits, and the uterus in guinea pigs (2). Since the mid-1970s when highly purified relaxin preparations began to be described (2), great progress has been made toward an understanding of the chemistry and physiology of relaxin. It is now recognized that there is extraordinary diversity among species in not only the source of relaxin, but also in its structure, regulation of synthesis and secretion, and physiological effects during pregnancy. This diversity mandates that rigorous study of relaxin be done on a species-by-species basis.

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  1. O. David Sherwood PhD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Science and Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Fuller W. Bazer PHD

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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Sherwood, O.D. (1998). Multiple Physiological Effects of Relaxin During Pregnancy. In: Bazer, F.W. (eds) Endocrinology of Pregnancy. Contemporary Endocrinology, vol 9. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1804-3_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1804-3_15

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7291-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-1804-3

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