Distribution of relaxin-3 mRNA and immunoreactivity and RXFP3-binding sites in the brain of the macaque, Macaca fascicularis

This study examined the presence and distribution of relaxin-3 (RLN3) and its receptor, RXFP3, throughout the brain of Macaca fascicularis. In perfusion-fixed sections, RLN3 immunoreactivity (IR) was observed throughout the fore-, mid-, and hindbrain and was enriched in the septum, hippocampus, and interpeduncular and supramammillary nuclei. Neurons in the pontine central gray area contained RLN3-IR and RLN3 mRNA. The distribution of RXFP3 protein, mapped by autoradiography of [(125)I]R3/I5-binding sites, correlated with the distribution of RLN3-IR. The broad distributions of RLN3-positive neuronal axons and terminals and of RXFP3 in the brain of Macaca fascicularis are consistent with findings in the rat and with an important role for RLN3 signaling in nonhuman primate and human brain