Urocortin II, a neuropeptide hormone within the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) family—which comprises mammalian CRF, urocortin I, urocortin III, frog sauvagine, and piscine urotensin I—displays 34, 43, and 37-40% sequence homology with rat and human CRF, human urocortin I, and human urocortin III, respectively. This compound enhances rabbit ventricular myocyte shortening and relaxation in both a time- and concentration-dependent manner. In vivo studies reveal that urocortin II lowers arterial blood pressure in both normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats through peripheral CRF2 receptor agonism, inducing dose-dependent tachycardia and hypotension at doses of 3 and 30 pmol/kg. Additionally, it mitigates the visceral pain response to colorectal distension at 10 and 20 μg/kg in conscious rats and delays gastric emptying in mice.