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Apelin/APJ system: a promising therapy target for hypertension

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Abstract

Apelin is a recently described endogenous peptide and its receptor APJ, is a member of the G protein-coupled receptors family. Apelin and APJ are widely distributed in central and peripheral tissues exert important biological effects on cardiovascular system. Recent studies have suggested that apelin/APJ system involves in decreasing the blood pressure and have a close relationship with hypertension, presumably, pathophysiology of hypertension as well. Such as, apelin/APJ system may be concerned in hyperfunction of the sympathetic nervous system, renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system, endothelial injury, excessive endothelin, sodium retention, vascular remodeling, insulin resistance elicit hypertension, as well as in hypertension-induced organ damaged. Meanwhile, on the ground of the variation of apelin level in hypertension therapeutic process and combining with the recently researches on APJ agonist and antagonist, we could infer that apelin/APJ system would be a promising therapeutic target for hypertension and other cardiovascular disease in the future. However, the role of apelin on these pathogenic conditions was not consistent, consequently, the contradictory role of apelin on these pathogenesis of hypertension would be discussed in this article.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81270420, 30901577), the Hengyang Joint Funds of Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (12JJ8013), Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (14JJ3102), and the Construct Program of the Key Discipline in Hunan Province. We special appreciate Bingbing Wang (Assistant Professor, Perinatal Biology Laboratory, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Rutgers University-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, USA) for the English language improvement.

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  1. Institute of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

    Di Wu, Lu He & Linxi Chen

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  1. Di Wu
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Correspondence to Linxi Chen.

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Wu, D., He, L. & Chen, L. Apelin/APJ system: a promising therapy target for hypertension. Mol Biol Rep 41, 6691–6703 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-014-3552-4

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