The Role of the Apelin/APJ System in the Regulation of Liver Disease

• Main Authors: Wei-Dong Chen, Yan-Dong Wang, Xinrui Lv, Jing Kong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2017-04-01
• Series: Frontiers in Pharmacology
• Subjects: Apelin; APJ; liver disease; peptide; angiotensin II receptor like-1
• Online Access: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphar.2017.00221/full

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 well as metabolic disease. The apelin/APJ system participates in various cell activities such as proliferation, migration, apoptosis or inflammation. However, apelin/APJ function in the liver is still under investigation. In the liver, the apelin-APJ system could play an inhibitory role in liver regeneration and promote Fas-induced apoptosis. It may participate in the formation of hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis, and even cancer. In this review, we summarize the role of the apelin/APJ system in liver disease.