RLN2 (relaxin 2)

Other names	H2
	RLXH2
	bA12D24.1.1
	bA12D24.1.2
	prorelaxin H2
HGNC (Hugo)	RLN2
LocusID (NCBI)	6019
Location	9p24.1
Location_base_pair	Starts at 5299866 and ends at 5304611 bp from pter ( according to hg19-Feb_2009)  [Mapping]
Local_order	RLN2 is located on chromosome 9 on the reverse strand.
	RLN2 is located on chromosome 9 (position shown by yellow arrow).
Note	See also, in the Deep Insight section: RLN2 and its role in cancer

	Schematic representation of the transcription of the human RLN2 gene. Adapted from Bathgate et al., 2006 (with permission). The gene is located with the RLN1, INSL4 and INSL6 genes on chromosome 9 at 9p24. The RLN2 gene consists of two exons and is transcribed to give preprorelaxin-2 mRNA. Exon I encodes for the signal peptide, the B Chain and part of the C Chain, and Exon II encodes for the remainder of the C Chain and the A chain of H2 relaxin. The arrows on the diagrams indicate the orientation of the genes. Although insulin and H2 relaxin are similar, there is no report that the insulin gene possess an intron.
Description	RLN2 is a functioning gene of 4,712 bp comprising 2 exons and 1 intron.
Transcription	The length of the transcript is 588bp. mRNA is expressed in high levels in ovary and placenta, and in lower levels in fibroblasts, a number of tumours, heart and brain. Alternate splicing: 2 isoforms: P04090-1, P04090-2.
Pseudogene	None but there are a number of similar genes of the same family. These include: RLN1 and RLN2 genes in a tight cluster with INSL4 and INSL6 genes on chromosome 9 at 9p24. The RLN3 gene is located on chromosome 19 at 19p13.3 in close proximity to INSL3 at 19p13.2 and the INSL5 gene is located on chromosome 1 at 1p31.1

	Modified from Westhuizen et al. 2008. Characteristic two-peptide chain hormone held together by disulphide bonds (shown in yellow) which provide the tertiary form of the molecule. There is a relaxin receptor binding motif (shown in red and green).
Description	Protein length of the precursor peptide is 185 amino acids with a molecular weight 21,043 Daltons. The functional peptide has 21 amino acids in the A chain and 27 in the B chain and with a molecular weight 5,989 Daltons. There is a specific binding motif (see diagram above) Arg-X-X-X-Arg-X-X-Ile/Val which are vital for binding and the projection from the tertiary structure is important in binding to the Type C LGR receptor (RXPF1). These receptors have a large and very distinctive ectodomain which includes an LDLa module at the far end of the N-terminus followed by a LRR domain (10 LRR). It is thought that this links with a unique hinge-like region leading into the transmembrane domain. There are seven transmembrane helices and an intracellular C-terminus.
Expression	mRNA and protein found in brain, heart, skin, lungs, liver, kidney, ovary, uterus, testis, prostate and in prostatic and mammary neoplasia. Expression induced by a variety of factors in different tissues.
Localisation	Cytoplasm.
Function	Brain - Increased food intake - Mediates stress behaviour - Increased fluid intake - Release of a number of hypothalamic peptides including vasopressin, oxytoxcin, LH, and angiotensin II Heart - Increased rate of atrial contraction - Increased force of atrial contraction - Reduced fibrosis - Differentiation and development - Release of ANP Vasculature - Decreased blood pressure - Decreased total peripheral resistance - Vasodilation Skin - Reduced fibosis Lungs - Increased lung perfusion and gas exchange - Relaxes bronchi - Reduced fibrosis - Reduced degranulation mast cells - Reduced inflammatory leukocytes Liver - Reduced fibosis Kidney - Increased GFR - Increased ERPF - Increased Na+ excretion - Reduced fibosis Ovary - Follicular ripening - Germ cell maturation Uterus - Angiogenesis - Endometrial thickening Cervix - Softening (shift from collagenous to more elastic tissue) Pelvic ligaments - Softening (shift from collagenous to more elastic tissue) Mammary gland - Differentiation and development Prostate - Increased sperm motility - Possible role in hypertrophy and neoplastic change Testis - Possible role in testicular descent in rats Cancer - Angiogenesis - Vasodilation - Reduced fibrosis - Reduced apoptosis
Homology	Generally 30-60% sequence homology is observed between relaxin 2 among species.

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