Serum apelin is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy in untreated hypertension patients.
BACKGROUND
Apelin is an endogenous ligand for the G protein-coupled receptor APJ. The association between apelin and cardiac modeling has been reported. However, if serum apelin affect the left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) prevalence in hypertensive patients remains unknown.


METHODS
We enrolled 344 untreated hypertensive patients. The presence of LVH was determined by echocardiography. The blood was drawn from these patients and serum apelin level was detected. To study the direct effect of apelin on cardiac hypertrophy, cardiomyocytes were cultured and were transfected with apelin gene. Morphometric analysis and measurement of protein contain per cell were then performed.


RESULTS
We observed a significantly lower serum apelin level in hypertensive patients with LVH compared with those without LVH. Receiver operating characteristic analyses shows that serum apelin level is robust in discriminating patients with LVH from those without. Our in vitro study showed that cellular protein content and cellular size was increased by Ang II treatment, which can be markedly inhibited by the apelin over-expression in cultured cardiomyocytes.


CONCLUSIONS
Our clinical date established a link between apelin and LVH, suggesting serum apelin may be used as a predicator for LVH prevalence in hypertensive patients. The direct evidence in vitro suggest apelin pathway is involved in the cardiomyocyte adaption to hypertrophic stimuli.
Department of Critical Care Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, No. 57 Southern Renmin Avenue, 524023, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China. 605364024@qq.com.
Lijun
L
Ye
Department of Critical Care Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, No. 57 Southern Renmin Avenue, 524023, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China. dingfenghua@163.com.
Fenghua
F
Ding
Department of Critical Care Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, No. 57 Southern Renmin Avenue, 524023, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China. 360498760@qq.com.
Liang
L
Zhang
Department of Cardiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, No.183, West Zhongshan Ave, Guangzhou, Tianhe District, China. dr_anna@tom.com.
Anna
A
Shen
Department of Critical Care Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, No. 57 Southern Renmin Avenue, 524023, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China. dr_hugyao@163.com.
Huaguo
H
Yao
Department of Critical Care Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, No. 57 Southern Renmin Avenue, 524023, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China. dr_dengliehua@163.com.
Liehua
L
Deng
The Institute of Medical System Biology, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical College, Dongguan, China. gdmcsbd@163.com.
Yuanlin
Y
Ding
D000328:Adult; D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000073861:Apelin; D000075244:Apelin Receptors; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D008024:Ligands; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000378:metabolism; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D015995:Prevalence; D012372:ROC Curve; D051381:Rats; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection
C115436:APLN protein, human; C104575:APLNR protein, human; D000073861:Apelin; D000075244:Apelin Receptors; C498579:Apln protein, rat; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008024:Ligands; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D000804:Angiotensin II; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain; D002097:C-Reactive Protein