Published in

American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), Pharmacological Reviews, 2(67), p. 389-440, 2015

DOI: 10.1124/pr.114.009472

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. XCV. Recent Advances in the Understanding of the Pharmacology and Biological Roles of Relaxin Family Peptide Receptors 1–4, the Receptors for Relaxin Family Peptides

This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Red circle
Postprint: archiving forbidden
Red circle
Published version: archiving forbidden
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Relaxin, insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3), relaxin-3, and INSL5 are the cognate ligands for the relaxin family peptide (RXFP) receptors 1–4, respectively. RXFP1 activates pleiotropic signaling pathways including the signalosome protein complex that facilitates high-sensitivity signaling; coupling to Gαs, Gαi, and Gαo proteins; interaction with glucocorticoid receptors; and the formation of hetero-oligomers with distinctive pharmacological properties. In addition to relaxin-related ligands, RXFP1 is activated by Clq-tumor necrosis factor-related protein 8 and by small-molecular-weight agonists, such as ML290 [2-isopropoxy-N-(2-(3-(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)phenylcarbamoyl)phenyl)benzamide], that act allosterically. RXFP2 activates only the Gαs- and Gαo-coupled pathways. Relaxin-3 is primarily a neuropeptide, and its cognate receptor RXFP3 is a target for the treatment of depression, anxiety, and autism. A variety of peptide agonists, antagonists, biased agonists, and an allosteric modulator target RXFP3. Both RXFP3 and the related RXFP4 couple to Gαi/Gαo proteins. INSL5 has the properties of an incretin; it is secreted from the gut and is orexigenic. The expression of RXFP4 in gut, adipose tissue, and β-islets together with compromised glucose tolerance in INSL5 or RXFP4 knockout mice suggests a metabolic role. This review focuses on the many advances in our understanding of RXFP receptors in the last 5 years, their signal transduction mechanisms, the development of novel compounds that target RXFP1–4, the challenges facing the field, and current prospects for new therapeutics.