Identification of Key Residues Essential for the Structural Fold and Receptor Selectivity within the A-chain of Human Gene-2 (H2) Relaxin

Human gene-2 (H2) relaxin is currently in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of acute heart failure. It is a 53-amino acid insulin-like peptide comprising two chains and three disulfide bonds. It interacts with two of the relaxin family peptide (RXFP) receptors. Although its cognate receptor is RXFP1, it is also able to cross-react with RXFP2, the native receptor for a related peptide, insulin-like peptide 3. In order to understand the basis of this cross-reactivity, it is important to elucidate both binding and activation mechanisms of this peptide. The primary binding mechanism of this hormone has been extensively studied and well defined. H2 relaxin binds to the leucine-rich repeats of RXFP1 and RXFP2 using B-chain-specific residues. However, little is known about the secondary interaction that involves the A-chain of H2 relaxin and transmembrane exoloops of the receptors. We demonstrate here through extensive mutation of the A-chain that the secondary interaction between H2 relaxin and RXFP1 is not driven by any single amino acid, although residues Tyr-3, Leu-20, and Phe-23 appear to contribute. Interestingly, these same three residues are important drivers of the affinity and activity of H2 relaxin for RXFP2 with additional minor contributions from Lys-9, His-12, Lys-17, Arg-18, and Arg-22. Our results provide new insights into the mechanism of secondary activation interaction of RXFP1 and RXFP2 by H2 relaxin, leading to a potent and RXFP1-selective analog, H2:A(4–24)(F23A), which was tested in vitro and in vivo and found to significantly inhibit collagen deposition similar to native H2 relaxin.     

Restricted,but abundant,expression of the novel rat gene-3 (R3) relaxin in the dorsal tegmental region of brain

Relaxin is a peptide hormone with known actions associated with female reproductive physiology, but it has also been identified in the brain. Only one relaxin gene had been characterized in rodents until recently when a novel human relaxin gene, human gene-3 (H3) and its mouse equivalent (M3) were identified. The current study reports the identification of a rat homologue, rat gene-3 (R3) relaxin that is highly expressed in a discrete region of the adult brain. The full R3 relaxin cDNA was generated using RT-PCR and 3' and 5' RACE protocols. The derived amino acid sequence of R3 relaxin retains all the characteristic features of a relaxin peptide and has a high degree of homology with H3 and M3 relaxin. The distribution of R3 relaxin mRNA in adult rat brain was determined and highly abundant expression was only detected in neurons of the ventromedial dorsal tegmental nucleus (vmDTg) in the pons, whereas all other brain areas were unlabelled or contained much lower mRNA levels. Relaxin binding sites and relaxin immunoreactivity were also detected in the vmDTg. These together with earlier findings provide strong evidence for a role(s) for multiple relaxin peptides as neurotransmitters and/or modulators in the rat CNS.     

Reproductive biology of the relaxin-like factor (RLF/INSL3)

The relaxin-like factor (RLF), which is the product of the insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3) gene, is a new circulating peptide hormone of the relaxin-insulin family. In male mammals, it is a major secretory product of the testicular Leydig cells, where it appears to be expressed constitutively but in a differentiation-dependent manner. In the adult testis, RLF expression is a good marker for fully differentiated adult-type Leydig cells, but it is only weakly expressed in prepubertal immature Leydig cells or in Leydig cells that have become hypertrophic or transformed. It is also an important product of the fetal Leydig cell population, where it has been demonstrated using knockout mice to be responsible for the second phase of testicular descent acting on the gubernaculum. INSL3 knockout mice are cryptorchid, and in estrogen-induced cryptorchidism, RLF levels in the testis are significantly reduced. RLF is also made in female tissues, particularly in the follicular theca cells of small antral follicles and in the corpus luteum of the cycle and pregnancy. The ruminant ovary has a very high level of RLF expression, and analysis of primary cultures of ovarian theca-lutein cells indicated that, as in the testis, expression is probably constitutive but differentiation dependent. Female INSL3 knockout mice have altered estrous cycles, where RLF may be involved in follicle selection, an idea strongly supported by observations on bovine secondary follicles. Recently, a novel 7-transmembrane domain receptor (LGR8 or Great) has been tentatively identified as the RLF receptor, and its deletion in mice leads also to cryptorchidism.     

Improved chemical synthesis and demonstration of the relaxin receptor binding affinity and biological activity of mouse relaxin

The primary stored and circulating form of relaxin in humans, human gene-2 (H2) relaxin, has potent antifibrotic properties with rapidly occurring efficacy. However, when administered to experimental models of fibrosis, H2 relaxin can only be applied over short-term (2-4 week) periods, due to rodents mounting an antibody response to the exogenous human relaxin, resulting in delayed clearance and, hence, increased and variable circulating levels. To overcome this problem, the current study investigated the therapeutic potential of mouse relaxin over long-term exposure in vivo. Mouse relaxin is unique among the known relaxins in that it possesses an extra residue within the C-terminal region of its A-chain. To enable a detailed assessment of its receptor interaction and biological properties, it was chemically synthesized in good overall yield by the separate preparation of each of its A- and B-chains followed by regioselective formation of each of the intramolecular and two intermolecular disulfide bonds. Murine relaxin was shown to bind with high affinity to the human, mouse, and rat RXFP1 (primary relaxin) receptor but with a slightly lower affinity to that of H2 relaxin. When administered to relaxin-deficient mice (which undergo an age-dependent progression of organ fibrosis) over a 4 month treatment period, mouse relaxin was able to significantly inhibit the progression of collagen accumulation in several organs including the lung, kidney, testis, and skin (all p < 0.05 vs untreated group), consistent with the actions of H2 relaxin. These combined data demonstrate that mouse relaxin can effectively inhibit collagen deposition and accumulation (fibrosis) over long-term treatment periods.     

Searching the human genome database for novel relaxin- and insulin-like peptides

In recent times, new members of the insulin/relaxin peptidesuperfamily have been identified by both differential cloningstrategies as well as bioinformatic searching of the ESTdatabases. We have used the public and Celera Genomicsdatabases to search for novel members of this peptide family.No new members of the insulin/relaxin family were identifiedalthough the human (H3) and mouse (M3) relaxin 3 genes that werecently discovered in the Celera Genomics database wereidentified in the public database. We were able to confirmthat there are no mouse equivalents of human INSL4 or humangene 1 relaxin. Hence, as the two human relaxin genes (H1 andH2) are localized together with INSL6 and INSL4 on chromosome9 it is probable that INSL4 and H1 relaxin are the result of agene duplication which did not occur in non-primates. Thediscovery of a full relaxin 3 sequences in a new Zebrafishbrain EST library, which retains a high homology in both A andB chain peptide sequence with the H3 peptide, indicate thatthis novel peptide has important conserved functions.     

Regioselective Disulfide Solid Phase Synthesis, Chemical Characterization and In Vitro Receptor Binding Activity of Equine Relaxin

In the equine industry, pregnancy loss during the third trimester constitutes a large percentage of fetal and neonatal mortality and represents a major financial loss and time investment for the breeder. Early identification of placental insufficiency would, in some cases, make it possible to sustain the pregnancy through medical intervention. Recent work suggests that relaxin is a valuable clinical tool for diagnosing placental insufficiency and monitoring treatment efficacy in mares. Relaxin is a polypeptide member of the insulin superfamily that consists of a two-chain structure and three disulfide bonds in a disposition identical to that of insulin. It is typically produced in the ovary during pregnancy and has primary roles in maintaining mammalian pregnancy and facilitating the delivery of the young via remodelling of the reproductive tract. The placenta is the primary source of relaxin in the mare during pregnancy. Its primary structure has been determined and shown to be the smallest of the known mammalian relaxins. It consists of a 20 residue A-chain and a 28-residue B-chain. To undertake detailed biophysical and biological characterization of the peptide, its chemical synthesis was undertaken using regioselective disulfide formation methods. The synthetic equine relaxin showed typical α-helical structure under physiological conditions. The peptide was found to bind to the relaxin receptor, LGR7, in vitro, and its binding affinity was found to be higher than that of the “gold standard”, porcine relaxin, and similar to that of the human relaxin-2 (H2 relaxin).     

C-Terminus of the B-Chain of Relaxin-3 Is Important for Receptor Activity

Human relaxin-3 is a neuropeptide that is structurally similar to human insulin with two chains (A and B) connected by three disulfide bonds. It is expressed primarily in the brain and has modulatory roles in stress and anxiety, feeding and metabolism, and arousal and behavioural activation. Structure-activity relationship studies have shown that relaxin-3 interacts with its cognate receptor RXFP3 primarily through its B-chain and that its A-chain does not have any functional role. In this study, we have investigated the effect of modification of the B-chain C-terminus on the binding and activity of the peptide. We have chemically synthesised and characterized H3 relaxin as C-termini acid (both A and B chains having free C-termini; native form) and amide forms (both chains’ C-termini were amidated). We have confirmed that the acid form of the peptide is more potent than its amide form at both RXFP3 and RXFP4 receptors. We further investigated the effects of amidation at the C-terminus of individual chains. We report here for the first time that amidation at the C-terminus of the B-chain of H3 relaxin leads to significant drop in the binding and activity of the peptide at RXFP3/RXFP4 receptors. However, modification of the A-chain C-terminus does not have any effect on the activity. We have confirmed using circular dichroism spectroscopy that there is no secondary structural change between the acid and amide form of the peptide, and it is likely that it is the local C-terminal carboxyl group orientation that is crucial for interacting with the receptors.