Apelin-12 acetate possesses a high affinity to orphan receptor APJ receptor. Apelin-12 acetate inhibits the JNK and p38 MAPK signaling pathway of the apoptosis-related MAPKs family, thus offering protection to neurons.
Apelin-12 acetate significantly improves the neurobehavioral score of the mice with ischemia-reperfusion injury and alleviates brain edema and damage to neurons. Apelin-12 acetate inhibits the morphological changes and apoptosis of neuronal cells in the ischemic penumbra of mice. Apelin-12 acetate downregulates the expression of Bax and caspase-3, inhibits the activity of caspase-3, and upregulates the expression of Bcl-2, an anti-apoptotic protein[2].