Ontogeny of apelin and its receptor in the rodent gastrointestinal tract

Guiyun Wang, Ramendra Kundu, Song Han, Xiang Qi, Ella W. Englander, Thomas Quertermous, George H. Greeley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

54 Scopus citations

Abstract

Apelin is the endogenous ligand for the APJ receptor and both apelin and APJ are expressed in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The aim of this study was to define ontogeny of apelin and APJ in the developing rodent GI tract by measuring expression levels and characterizing abundance and cellular localization at an embryonic stage (E18.5 or E21), two postnatal stages (P4, P16) and in the adult. Apelin and APJ mRNA levels were measured by real time RT-PCR, apelin and APJ-containing cells were identified by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. Gastric, duodenal and colonic apelin and APJ mRNA levels were highest at birth and declined postnatally. In the postnatal rat stomach, few apelin peptide-containing cells were identified, the density of gastric apelin-containing cells increased progressively after weaning and into adulthood. A robust APJ immunostaining was observed postnatally in the epithelium, intestinal goblet cells and in smooth muscle cells. In the adult rat, APJ immunostaining in the surface epithelium and goblet cells decreased markedly. During the early postnatal period, in an apelin-deficient mouse, APJ expression and immunostaining in the gut were reduced suggesting that apelin regulates APJ. Together, our data support a role for the apelin-APJ system in the regulation of smooth muscle, epithelial and goblet cell function in the GI tract.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)32-39
Number of pages8
JournalRegulatory Peptides
Volume158
Issue number1-3
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 27 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Expression
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Localization

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Biochemistry
  • Endocrinology
  • Clinical Biochemistry
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Ontogeny of apelin and its receptor in the rodent gastrointestinal tract'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this