The vascular actions of relaxin

Relaxin is emerging as a hormone with important vascular actions. Much of our recently gained knowledge of relaxin in this context has stemmed from investigations of maternal vascular adaptations to pregnancy in which the hormone is turning out to be an important mediator. This chapter is separated into three parts. In Part 1, we discuss relaxin in the setting of normal vascular function and focus on systemic hemodynamics and arterial mechanical properties, renal and other peripheral circulations, angiogenesis, as well as the cellular mechanisms of the vasodilatory actions of relaxin. In this section, we also summarize the evidence for an arterial-derived relaxin ligand-receptor system. In Part 2, we present relaxin in the context of vascular dysfunction and the implications for relaxin as a therapeutic agent in renal and cardiac diseases, ischemia and reperfusion injury, pulmonary hypertension, vascular inflammation and preeclampsia. Finally, in Part 3, we highlight some of the controversies and unresolved issues, as well as suggest a general direction for future relaxin research that is urgently needed.