THE COMPLEMENTARY DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC-ACID SEQUENCE OF GUINEA-PIG ENDOMETRIAL PRORELAXIN

The nucleotide sequence of the relaxin gene transcript in the endometrium of the late pregnant guinea pig has been determined. The strategy used was a combination of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with primers designed from the mRNA sequence of porcine preprorelaxin, rapid amplification of cDNA ends-PCR, and blunt end cloning in M13 mp18. With heterologous primers, a 226-basepair (bp) segment of the guinea pig relaxin gene sequence was obtained and was used to design a guinea pig-specific primer for use with the rapid amplification of cDNA ends-PCR method. The latter allowed completion of the sequence of 336 bp, with a 96-bp overlap. The sequence obtained shows greater homology at both the nucleotide and amino acid levels with porcine and human relaxins H1 and H2 than with rat relaxin, supporting the thesis that the guinea pig is not a rodent. The transcription of the guinea pig endometrial relaxin gene during pregnancy was confirmed by Northern analysis of guinea pig endometrial tissues with a species-specific cDNA probe. The endometrial relaxin gene is transcribed during pregnancy, but not in lactation, consistent with the observed immunostaining for relaxin.