The Faculty in Reproductive Biology at Illinois

O. David Sherwood

Molecular and Integrative Physiology and College of Medicine
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin

To e-mail Dr. Sherwood use: od-sherw@uiuc.edu

Relaxin is a protein hormone that is produced and secreted during pregnancy in mammalian species. For 30 years Dr. Sherwood's laboratory has devoted essentially all research effort toward an understanding of the chemistry and physiology of relaxin. They were the first to isolate and chemically characterize relaxin and did so in two species- the rat and pig.  During the last 20 years Dr. Sherwood has established that relaxin has diverse and vital  physiological roles during pregnancy in rats and pigs. Relaxin promotes growth and softening of both the cervix and the vagina, and thereby enables rapid and safe delivery of fetuses. Relaxin promotes development of the mammary apparatus and thus permits normal lactational performance. Additional roles of relaxin during pregnancy are to bring about renal and systemic vasodilatation that increases arterial compliance.

The current focus of Dr. Sherwood’s laboratory is to examine mechanisms at the cellular and molecular levels whereby relaxin brings about growth and softening of the lower reproductive tract. They have discovered that relaxin promotes increased extensibility (softening) by reducing the organization and density of collagen fibers, and reducing the length of elastin fibers. They recently found that relaxin promotes growth of the cervix and the vagina, at least in part, by promoting proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis of both epithelial and stromal cells. Ongoing studies in Dr. Sherwood’s laboratory are utilizing relaxin receptor knockout mice and tissue recombination techniques to identify the cellular compartment(s) within the cervix and vagina that initiate relaxin’s actions.

The work in Dr. Sherwood's laboratory has played a role in providing the incentive for the commercial company BAS Medical to commit efforts toward the use of relaxin for clinical purposes in humans. The incidence of Cesarean section at birth in the United States is now 30 percent and far too high. Recombinant human relaxin is presently being explored in clinical trials as a cervical softening agent. It remains to be determined whether the hormone will be used clinically for that purpose.

News Items

Two-drug approach might shorten painful labor, reduce Caesarean sections

Scientific discovery has roots at UI

Selected Publications

Hsu, S.Y., Nakabayashi, K., Nishi, S., Kumagai, J., Kudo, M., Sherwood, O.D., and Hsueh, A.J. 2002. Activation of orphan receptors by the hormone relaxin. Science, 29:671–74.

Zhao, S. and Sherwood, O.D. 2003. Induction of labor with RU 486 (mifepristone) in relaxin-deficient rats: Antepartum administration of relaxin facilitates delivery and increases pup survival. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 190:229–38.

Sherwood, O.D. 2004. Relaxin's physiological roles and other diverse actions. Endocrine Reviews, 25:205–34.

Lee, H.Y., Zhao, S., Fields, Z.P.A., and Sherwood, O.D. 2005. The extent to which relaxin promotes proliferation and inhibits apoptosis is greatest during late pregnancy in rats. Endocrinology, 146:511–18.

View O. David Sherwood's Publications at the National Library of Medicine (PubMed)

Last updated December 4, 2006

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