The most common therapies for asthma and other chronic lung diseases are anti-inflammatory agents and bronchodilators. While these drugs oppose disease symptoms, they do not reverse established structural changes in the airways and their therapeutic efficacy is reduced with increasing disease severity. The peptide hormone, relaxin, is a Relaxin Family Peptide Receptor 1 (RXFP1) receptor agonist with unique combined effects in the lung that differentiates it from these existing therapies. Relaxin has previously been reported to have cardioprotective effects in acute heart failure as well anti-fibrotic actions in several organs. This review focuses on recent experimental evidence of the beneficial effects of chronic relaxin treatment in animal models of airways disease demonstrating inhibition of airway hyperresponsiveness and reversal of established fibrosis, consistent with potential therapeutic benefit. Of particular interest, accumulating evidence demonstrates that relaxin can also acutely oppose contraction by reducing the release of mast cell-derived bronchoconstrictors and by directly eliciting bronchodilation. When used in combination, chronic and acute treatment with relaxin has been shown to enhance responsiveness to both glucocorticoids and β₂-adrenoceptor agonists respectively. While the mechanisms underlying these beneficial actions remain to be fully elucidated, translation of these promising combined preclinical findings is critical in the development of relaxin as a novel alternative or adjunct therapeutic opposing multiple aspects of airway pathology in lung diseases.

哮喘和其他慢性肺部疾病的最常见疗法是消炎药和支气管扩张药。尽管这些药物可抵抗疾病症状，但它们不会逆转气道中已建立的结构变化，并且随着疾病严重程度的增加，其治疗功效也会降低。肽激素松弛素是一种松弛素家族肽受体1（RXFP1）受体激动剂，在肺部具有独特的联合作用，可将其与这些现有疗法区分开。先前已经报道过松弛素在急性心力衰竭中具有心脏保护作用，并且在一些器官中具有抗纤维化作用。这篇综述集中在慢性松弛素治疗在气道疾病动物模型中的有益作用的最新实验证据，证实了对气道高反应性的抑制和已确立的纤维化的逆转，与潜在的治疗益处相一致。特别令人感兴趣的是，越来越多的证据表明，松弛素还可以通过减少肥大细胞衍生的支气管收缩剂的释放和直接引起支气管扩张来强烈反对收缩。当与松弛素合用时，已显示慢性和急性治疗可增强对糖皮质激素和β的反应性 越来越多的证据表明，松弛素还可以通过减少肥大细胞衍生的支气管收缩剂的释放和直接引起支气管扩张来急性对抗收缩。当与松弛素合用时，已显示慢性和急性治疗可增强对糖皮质激素和β的反应性 越来越多的证据表明，松弛素还可以通过减少肥大细胞衍生的支气管收缩剂的释放和直接引起支气管扩张来急性对抗收缩。当与松弛素合用时，已显示慢性和急性治疗可增强对糖皮质激素和β的反应性_2-肾上腺素受体激动剂分别。尽管这些有益作用的机制尚待充分阐明，但这些有前途的综合临床前研究结果的翻译对于松弛素作为肺疾病中气道病理的多个方面的新型替代或辅助治疗方法的发展至关重要。