Apelin/APJ： a novel therapy target for inflammation-related diseases

Apelin, the endogenous ligand of APJ which is a member of G protein-coupled receptors, expressed in a variety of tissues in vivo and involved in the physiological and pathological processes. Studies had shown that ape- lin/APJ system was involved in the regulation of cardiovascular function, insulin sensitivity and had a close connec- tion with oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, this article summarized that apelin/APJ system such as atherosclerosis, hyperten- had the effects of inflammation-related diseases associated with oxidative stress, ischemia-reperfusion injury, tumour and pre-eclampsia, etc. sion, diabetes and its mierovaseular complications, Meanwhile the drugs targeted apelin/APJ was introduced in order to provide the novel therapeutic strategy for in- flammation-related diseases.