Apelin is an endogenous peptide that is a ligand for the APJ receptor (angiotensin II receptor like-1, AT-1). The apelin/APJ system is distributed in diverse periphery organ tissues. It has been shown that the apelin/APJ system plays various roles in physiology and pathophysiology of many organs. It regulates cardiovascular development or cardiac disease, glycometabolism and fat metabolism as w...

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-12 is one of the most potent forms of apelin, an adipocytokine that might contribute to the decrease in body weight. The aim of this project was to compare the level of serum apelin-12 in obese and nonobese middle-aged men and to assess the relationship of serum apelin-12 concentration with anthropometric parameters and lipid profile. In this cross-sectional study, 150 obese men (body ma...

BACKGROUND Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been introduced to treat drug refractory chronic heart failure (CHF). Apelin, the endogenous ligand of the APJ receptor, is under evaluation for its potential role in human CHF pathophysiology. This study aims to assess whether biventricular pacing affects plasma apelin levels in patients with severe CHF. METHODS AND RESULTS Fourteen pati...

The apelin peptide is described as one of the most potent inotropic agents, produced endogenously in a wide range of cells, including cardiomyocytes. Despite positive effects on cardiac contractility in multicellular preparations, as well as indications of cardio-protective actions in several diseases, its effects and mechanisms of action at the cellular level are incompletely understood. Here,...

OBJECTIVES To describe the relationship of plasma apelin levels with blood pressure in a coastal Chinese population. METHODS This cross-sectional study included a total of 1031 subjects from the coastal areas of China. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and linear trend test, Pearson's correlation analysis, as well as multivariate linear regression analysis were used to evaluate the associa...

Microinjection of apelin-13 into the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) in the brainstem increases blood pressure in rats. In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that apelin-13 directly stimulates neuronal activity in neurons cultured from the brainstem and that NAD(P)H oxidase-derived reactive oxygen species are involved in this action of apelin-13. Microinjection of apelin-13 into t...

PURPOSE The adipose tissue plays a role in carcinogenesis with the adipokines it generates. Apelin is an anti-obesigenic adipokine, and assumes roles in both vascularization and tumor cell proliferation. The present study aimed to investigate changes in apelin levels, in postmenopausal breast cancer (BC) patients receiving aromatase inhibitors (AIs). METHODS Forty early-stage postmenopausal B...

Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a negative regulator of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), catalyzing the conversion of Angiotensin II to Angiotensin 1-7. Apelin is a second catalytic substrate for ACE2 and functions as an inotropic and cardioprotective peptide. While an antagonistic relationship between the RAS and apelin has been proposed, such functional interplay remains elusive....

Hypoxia-inducible factor stimulates the expression of apelin, a potent vasodilator, in response to reduced blood arterial oxygen saturation. However, aberrations in the apelin system impair pulmonary vascular function, potentially resulting in the development of high-altitude (HA)-related disorders. This study aimed to elucidate the genetic and epigenetic regulation of apelin, apelin receptor (...