Peptides
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Apelin is an endogenous peptide ligand for the G protein-coupled receptor APJ/AGTRL1/APLNR and is widely expressed throughout human body. In adult hearts Apelin-APJ/Apelin receptor axis is potently inotropic, vasodilatory, and pro-angiogenic and thereby contributes to maintaining homeostasis in normal and pathological hearts. Apelin-APJ/Apelin receptor is also involved in heart development including endoderm differentiation, heart morphogenesis, and coronary vascular formation. ⋯ Elabela plays crucial roles in heart development and disease conditions presumably at time points or at areas of the heart different from Apelin. Apelin and Elabela seem to constitute a spatiotemporal double ligand system to control APJ/Apelin receptor signaling in the heart. These expanding knowledges of Apelin systems would further encourage therapeutic applications of Apelin, Elabela, or their synthetic derivatives for cardiovascular diseases.