The relaxin gene is located on chromosome 19 in the mouse

History of key regulatory peptide systems and perspectives for future research

Throughout the 20th Century, regulatory peptide discovery advanced from the identification of gut hormones to the extraction and characterization of hypothalamic hypophysiotropic factors, and to the isolation and cloning of multiple brain neuropeptides. These discoveries were followed by the discovery of G-protein-coupled and other membrane receptors for these peptides. Subsequently, the systems physiology associated with some of these multiple regulatory peptides and receptors has been comprehensively elucidated and has led to improved therapeutics and diagnostics and their approval by the US Food and Drug Administration. In light of this wealth of information and further potential, it is truly a time of renaissance for regulatory peptides. In this perspective, we review what we have learned from the pioneers in exemplified fields of gut peptides, such as cholecystokinin, enterochromaffin-like-cell peptides, and glucagon, from the trailblazing studies on the key stress hormone, corticotropin-releasing factor, as well as from more recently characterized relaxin-family peptides and receptors. The historical viewpoints are based on our understanding of these topics in light of the earliest phases of research and on subsequent studies and the evolution of knowledge, aiming to sharpen our vision of the current state-of-the-art and those studies that should be prioritized in the future.

Centrally administered relaxin-3 induces Fos expression in the osmosensitive areas in rat brain and facilitates water intake

The expression of the relaxin-3 gene, detected as a new member of the insulin superfamily using human genomic databases, is abundantly present in the brain and testis. Intracerebroventricularly (icv) administered relaxin-3 stimulates food intake. Icv administered relaxin (identical to relaxin-2 in humans) affects the secretion of vasopressin and drinking behavior. Relaxin-3 partly binds relaxin family peptide receptor 1, which is a specific receptor to relaxin. Thus, we hypothesized that relaxin-3 would have physiological effects in the body fluid balance. However, the effects of relaxin-3 in the body fluid balance remain unknown. In the present study, we revealed that icv administered relaxin-3 induced dense Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-LI) in the rat hypothalamus and circumventricular organs including the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis, the median preoptic nucleus, supraoptic nucleus (SON), the subfornical organ (SFO) and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), that are related to the central regulation of body fluid balance. Icv administered relaxin-3 (54, 180 and 540 pmol/rat) also induced a significant increase in c-fos gene expression in a dose-dependent manner in the SON, SFO and PVN. Further, icv administered relaxin-3 (180 pmol/rat) significantly increased water intake, and the effect was as strong as that of relaxin-2 (180 pmol/rat). These results suggest that icv administered relaxin-3 activates osmosensitive areas in the brain and plays an important role in the regulation of body fluid balance.

Central relaxin-3 administration causes hyperphagia in male Wistar rats

Relaxin-3 (INSL-7) is a recently discovered member of the insulin superfamily. Relaxin-3 mRNA is expressed in the nucleus incertus of the brainstem, which has projections to the hypothalamus. Relaxin-3 binds with high affinity to the LGR7 receptor and to the previously orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPCR135. GPCR135 mRNA is expressed predominantly in the central nervous system, particularly in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). The presence of relaxin-3 and these receptors in the PVN led us to investigate the effect of central administration of relaxin-3 on food intake in male Wistar rats. The receptor involved in mediating these effects was also investigated. Intracerebroventricular injections of human relaxin-3 (H3) to satiated rats significantly increased food intake 1 h post administration in the early light phase [0.96 +/- 0.16 g (vehicle) vs. 1.81 +/- 0.21 g (180 pmol H3), P < 0.05] and the early dark phase [2.95 +/- 0.45 g (vehicle) vs. 4.39 +/- 0.39 g (180 pmol H3), P < 0.05]. Intra-PVN H3 administration significantly increased 1-h food intake in satiated rats in the early light phase [0.34 +/- 0.16 g (vehicle) vs. 1.23 +/- 0.30 g (18 pmol H3), P < 0.05] and the early dark phase [4.43 +/- 0.32 g (vehicle) vs. 6.57 +/- 0.42 g (18 pmol H3), P < 0.05]. Feeding behavior increased after intra-PVN H3. Equimolar doses of human relaxin-2, which binds the LGR7 receptor but not GPCR135, did not increase feeding. Hypothalamic neuropeptide Y, proopiomelanocortin, or agouti-related peptide mRNA expression did not change after acute intracerebroventricular H3. These results suggest a novel role for relaxin-3 in appetite regulation.

Cloning of two novel mammalian paralogs of relaxin/insulin family proteins and their expression in testis and kidney

Based on sequence homology to insulin and relaxin, we have isolated two novel genes of the insulin superfamily from mouse tissues. Because these proteins show a high similarity to relaxin and relaxin-like factor (RLF or Ley I-L), they were named as RIF1 (relaxin/insulin-like factor 1) and RIF2 (relaxin/insulin-like factor 2). After RT-PCR, full-length cDNAs of RIF1 and RIF2 were obtained from mouse testis and ovary, respectively. In addition, a putative human ortholog of RIF1 was isolated from human testis. The deduced coding regions of mRIF1, mRIF2, and hRIF1 were 191, 145, and 213 amino acids, respectively, and all three proteins contain a typical signal sequence for secretion at their amino terminus. Sequence comparison indicated that RIFs encode proteins consisting of B and A subunits connected by a long C domain peptide, and the deduced mature proteins of these putative ligands are most closely related to relaxin, RLF, and insulin from different species. Northern blot analysis showed that RIF1 transcripts are approximately 1.2 kb in size and are expressed mainly in testis of mouse and human. In contrast, RIF2 message of 2.0 and 1.2 kb are preferentially expressed in mouse kidney and are lower in testis, heart, and brain. In addition, immunohistochemical analysis showed that testis expression of RIF1 is restricted to interstitial cells surrounding seminiferous tubules. In kidney, the RIF2 message is localized to selected epithelial cells of loop of Henle. The exclusive expression pattern of RIF1 and related RLF in testis interstitial cells suggested potential physiological roles of these two distinct insulin/relaxin family ligands in testis function. Additionally, the spatial expression pattern of RIF2 suggests a novel role of RIF2 in nephrophysiology. Identification of RIF polypeptides expands the family of relaxin- and insulin-like hormones and allows future elucidation of the physiological role and hormonal mechanisms for these tissue-specific factors.

Localization of genes for two members of the JAK family of protein tyrosine kinases to murine chromosomes 4 and 19

Genes encoding two members of the JAK family of protein tyrosine kinases, Jak-1 and Jak-2, have been mapped to mouse Chromosomes (Chrs) 4 and 19 respectively. These placements are consistent with the previously described location of human JAK1 and JAK2, which lie in regions of synteny on human Chrs 1p31-3 (JAK1) and 9p24 (JAK2). The location of Jak-2 in the mouse genome extends the region of homology between mouse Chr 19 and human Chr 9.