The mechanism of relaxin, a novel Glucocorticoid Receptor modulator

The project aims to determine how the peptide hormone relaxin binds to the glucocorticoid receptor, a master transcription factor of the cell and a key cause of inflammation, and define the genes activated. This project expects to guide the design of new ligands that will direct what genes the receptor activates and thereby control inflammation. Expected outcomes of this project are new knowledge on controlling the function of the glucocorticoid receptor. This should benefit Australian scientists in seeking ligands to modulate the activity of the receptor, provide excellent training in molecular sciences and consolidate long-term international collaborations. Glucocorticoids are key factors in inflammation. The peptide relaxin is a potential anti-inflammatory that binds to the glucocorticoid receptor and has no unwanted side effects. Currently, there are no structures of an activating peptide bound to the glucocorticoid receptor.