Apelin receptors, present on vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelium, and cardiomyocytes, are activated by the family of apelin peptides to elicit cardiovascular effects in experimental animals, but functional activity in humans has not been studied in detail. We detected low levels of apelin immunoreactivity in plasma of volunteers consistent with an autocrine/paracrine action and detected a...

BACKGROUND Apelin has various effects on a lot of systems such as central nervous system and cardiovascular system. This study investigated the possible analgesic effects of apelin-13 using the hot-plate and the tail-flick thermal analgesia tests in rats. We also evaluated the mechanism underlying the analgesic effects of apelin-13 by pretreating with Nw-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) o...

A key step in the de novo formation of the embryonic vasculature is the migration of endothelial precursors, the angioblasts, to the position of the future vessels. To form the first axial vessels, angioblasts migrate towards the midline and coalesce underneath the notochord. Vascular endothelial growth factor has been proposed to serve as a chemoattractant for the angioblasts and to regulate t...

Apelin is the endogenous ligand of APJ, which belongs to the family of G protein‑coupled receptors. Apelin and APJ are highly expressed in various cardiovascular tissues, including the heart, kidney and vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells. Although apelin exerts hypotensive effects via activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), the ability of apelin to regulate blood press...

Apelin receptors, present on vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelium, and cardiomyocytes, are activated by the family of apelin peptides to elicit cardiovascular effects in experimental animals, but functional activity in humans has not been studied in detail. We detected low levels of apelin immunoreactivity in plasma of volunteers consistent with an autocrine/paracrine action and detected a...

Apelin-13 causes vasoconstriction by acting directly on APJ receptors in vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells; however, the ionic mechanisms underlying this action at the cellular level remain unclear. Large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BKCa) channels in VSM cells are critical regulators of membrane potential and vascular tone. In the present study, we examined the effect of apelin-13 on BK...

Background: Apelin is the endogenous ligand of APJ, which belongs to the family of G protein-coupled receptors. It is an adipokine plays a role in the regulation of glucose homeostasis and in obesity but the relationship of apelin levels in humans with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its effect on the histological severity of NAFLD is lacking. Methods: Blood samples were collected ...

In addition to the CCR5 and CXCR4 chemokine receptors, a subset of primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates can also use the seven-transmembrane-domain receptor APJ as a coreceptor. A previously identified ligand of APJ, apelin, specifically inhibited the entry of primary T-tropic and dualtropic HIV-1 isolates from different clades into cells expressing CD4 and APJ. Analysis...

The apelinergic system has a widespread expression in the central nervous system (CNS) including the paraventricular nucleus, supraoptic nucleus and median eminence, and isolated cells of the anterior lobe of the pituitary. This pattern of expression in hypothalamic nuclei known to contain corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) and vasopressin (AVP) and to co-ordinate endocrine responses to stre...

BACKGROUND Chronic kidney diseases lead to severe cardiovascular consequences such as hypertension and cardiac failure. Apelin, along with its receptor APJ have been shown to involve in cardiovascular functions including blood pressure (BP) lowering effect and also a positive inotropic effect on failing hearts. Therefore we investigated the effect of apelin on BP and cardiac contractility in ch...