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Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology (S.Z., O.D.S.) and the College of Medicine (O.D.S.), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. O. D. Sherwood, Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 524 Burrill Hall, 407 South Goodwin Ave, Urbana, Illinois 61801. E-mail: od-sherw{at}uiuc.edu
This study employed morphometric analysis to evaluate changes in the histological characteristics that accompany relaxin-induced growth and softening of the vagina during the second half of rat pregnancy.
There were three treatment groups (N = 4/group). Five milligrams of a monoclonal antibody for rat relaxin, designated MCA1, were injected iv daily on days 12–21 of gestation to treatment group MCA1. Control groups received either 5 mg of monoclonal antibody for fluorescein (MCAF; monoclonal antibody control) or 0.5 ml PBS (vehicle control). Vaginas were removed on day 22 of pregnancy, fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin, and embedded in paraffin. Tissue sections (5 µm) were stained with Gomori’s trichrome to visualize collagen, or orcein to visualize elastin. Measurements were performed with a light microscope equipped with a video camera connected to a computer. Within the vaginal stroma, the density of collagen fiber bundles was lower, the length of elastin fibers was shorter, and the cross-sectional area and wall thickness of arteries were greater in relaxin-replete control rats than in relaxin-deficient MCA1-treated rats. These relaxin-induced changes in the stroma appear to account, at least in part, for the hormone’s softening effect on the vagina. Within the epithelium, there were approximately 2-fold more basal and mucus-secreting cells in relaxin-replete control rats than in MCA1-treated rats. The relaxin-induced accumulation of epithelial cells appears to contribute to vaginal growth.
We conclude that relaxin plays a role in preparing the vagina as well as the cervix for rapid and safe delivery in pregnant rats.
This article has been cited by other articles:
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  L. Yao, A. I. Agoulnik, P. S. Cooke, D. D. Meling, and O. D. Sherwood Relaxin Acts on Stromal Cells to Promote Epithelial and Stromal Proliferation and Inhibit Apoptosis in the Mouse Cervix and Vagina Endocrinology, May 1, 2008; 149(5): 2072 - 2079. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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 C. S. Samuel Relaxin: Antifibrotic Properties and Effects in Models of Disease Clin. Med. Res., November 1, 2005; 3(4): 241 - 249. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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 O. D. Sherwood Relaxin's Physiological Roles and Other Diverse Actions Endocr. Rev., April 1, 2004; 25(2): 205 - 234. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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S. Zhao, P. A. Fields, and O. D. Sherwood Evidence That Relaxin Inhibits Apoptosis in the Cervix and the Vagina during the Second Half of Pregnancy in the Rat Endocrinology, June 1, 2001; 142(6): 2221 - 2229. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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O. D. Sherwood, L. M. Olson, S. Zhao, and H. R. Little Inhibition of Nitric Oxide Synthase Activity Diminishes the Acute Effects of Relaxin on Growth, But Not Softening, of the Cervix in the Rat Endocrinology, July 1, 2000; 141(7): 2458 - 2464. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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 L. Zhao, C. S. Samuel, G. W. Tregear, F. Beck, and E. M. Wintour Collagen Studies in Late Pregnant Relaxin Null Mice Biol Reprod, March 1, 2000; 63(3): 697 - 703. [Abstract] [Full Text]
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