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. 2013 Nov 1;123(12):5203–5211. doi: 10.1172/JCI69608

Figure 5. Apelin upregulates ACE2 expression in vivo and in vitro.

Figure 5

(A) Western blot for ACE2 in the hearts of mice infused with apelin-13 or apelin-12. Hearts were harvested after 2 weeks of apelin peptide infusions. Bar graphs show quantifications (n = 4–6 per group). (B) ACE2 expression in primary cardiomyocytes isolated from wild-type mice treated with either vehicle or apelin-13 peptides (1 μM) for 24 hours. (C) ACE2 promoter assay using the luciferase reporter plasmids ACE2 (–1119/+103)-luc, ACE2 (–252/+103)-luc, ACE2 (–202/+103)-luc, or ACE2 (-230/+1)-luc in combination with APJ expression vectors in Vero E6 cells. Cells were either left untreated or treated with 1 μM apelin-13 peptide (apelin-13). (D) Dose dependency of apelin on ACE2 promoter activation in Vero E6 cells. (E) Effects of AT1R expression on apelin-induced ACE2 promoter (–252/+103) activity in HEK293T cells transfected with control mock vectors (Mock), APJ expression vectors (APJ), or a combination of APJ and AT1R vectors (APJ + AT1R) and treated with or without apelin-13. n = 3 per group in at least 2 independent experiments. All values represent mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01.