Platelet apelin receptor expression is reduced in patients with acute myocardial infarction

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Apelin in this observational study publication.

The G-protein-coupled apelin receptor and its apelin ligand are an emerging regulatory system of the vascular homeostasis.

To date, the implications of the apelin/apelin receptor system in athero-thrombosis are not completely clarified yet.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 17 patients were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

Furthermore, in an observational pilot study, the researchers assessed platelet apelin recpetor expression and apelin-17 plasma levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI, n = 27).

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a pilot study.

It is described as a pilot, a small early test of whether a larger Apelin study would be practical.

The researchers applied immunofluorescence staining, Western Blot analysis, aggregometry, and flow cytometry to elucidate the role of the apelin receptor in activated platelets.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Apelin Receptors, Blood Platelets, Case-Control Studies, Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins, Ligands, Myocardial Infarction and Pilot Projects.

Author keywords: Acute myocardial infarction, Apelin-17 and Platelet aggregation.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a pilot study of Apelin in 17 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 6 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2021 (Vascular pharmacology), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Apelin compound page, all human trials.