Adipokines are a large group of polypeptide hormones secreted by white adipose tissue able to interact through different receptors with several organs, including liver, central nervous system and gonads. In this review, we will focus on the adipokines that mediate their effects G protein-coupled receptors, namely apelin chemerin. Firstly, review structure (APJ for apelin, CMKLR1, GPR1 CCRL2 che...

A formula for off-axis emissions from the beamed afterglow of GRBs in a synchrotron model is derived. The formula is applied to an inhomogeneous circumstellar matter obeying n ∝ r−2 suggested for SN1998bw/GRB980425. The slow decline rate as well as the X-ray flux similar to the observed values are obtained for appropriate choice of the parameters so that the association of GRB980425 with SN1998...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of endogenous apelin in pathological retinal angiogenesis. METHODS AND RESULTS The progression of ischemic retinal diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy, is closely associated with pathological retinal angiogenesis, mainly induced by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and erythropoietin. Although antiangiogenic therapies using anti-VEGF drugs are effe...

OBJECTIVE Physiological roles of apelin and its specific receptor APJ signaling were investigated in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). The present study determined whether apelin activates myosin light chain (MLC), a major regulatory event in initiating smooth muscle contraction. METHODS AND RESULTS To assess MLC activation, we performed Western blot and immunohistochemical studies using ...

Apelin is a recently discovered biologically active peptide present in several isoforms that are agonists for orphan receptor APJ. Apelin and APJ receptor were found in the central nervous system and in different peripheral tissues. In the cardiovascular system the peptide is present both in the heart and in the endothelium and smooth muscles cells of the vascular wall. Acting on cardiomyocytes...

Apelin regulates various cell signaling processes through interaction with its specific cell-surface receptor, APJ, which is a member of a seven transmembrane G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. To develop a novel apelin analogue, we synthesized cyclic analogues of minimal apelin fragment RPRLSHKGPMPF (apelin-12), and evaluated their bioactivities in a recombinant human APJ-expressed cell l...

The apelinergic system is an important player in the regulation of both vascular tone and cardiovascular function, making this physiological system an attractive target for drug development for hypertension, heart failure and ischemic heart disease. Indeed, apelin exerts a positive inotropic effect in humans whilst reducing peripheral vascular resistance. In this study, we investigated the sign...

The aim of this study was to interrogate the gender-specific association of 5 well-defined polymorphisms in apelin/APJ system with both blood pressure changes and hypertension risk in a northeastern Chinese population. This is a population-based case-control study, including 650 hypertensive patients and 645 normotensive controls. Data were analyzed by STATA and Haplo.Stats. The genotype distri...