The structural basis of the interaction of human relaxins with their receptors.

松弛素是一种参与生育过程调节的肽。它作为抗纤维化剂具有相当大的前景。最近，另一种松弛素样肽，松弛素-3，被鉴定并显示是脑特异性的。它调节压力反应和食欲。这两种松弛素作用于不同的受体以引起它们的生物效应。为了开发它们的临床潜力，我们将确定这些肽如何选择性地结合和激活它们各自的受体。

Relaxin is a peptide that is involved in the regulation of the birth process. It has considerable promise as an anti-fibrotic agent. Recently, another relaxin-like peptide, relaxin-3, was identified and shown to be brain-specific. It modulates the stress response and appetite. Both relaxins act upon different receptors to elicit their biological effects. To exploit their clinical potential, we will determine how these peptides selectively bind and ativate their individual receptors.