Structure-guided development of G protein-biased apelin receptor agonists for cardiovascular disease.

Authors

Weiwei Wang, Jiangrong Zhang, Jiahua Zhang, Yixin Yang, Yan Zhang

Published in

Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B. Volume 27. Issue 10. Pages 1059-1065. Oct 23, 2026.

Abstract

Apelin receptor (APLNR) is a crucial G protein-coupled receptor that plays a central role in cardiovascular homeostasis; therefore, it represents a promising therapeutic target for heart failure, myocardial infarction, cardiac hypertrophy, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. However, the activation of APLNR simultaneously engages inhibitory G protein (G_i)-mediated protective signaling and β-arrestin pathways that are associated with pathological cardiac remodeling, thereby imposing significant limitations and challenges for the therapeutic development of conventional balanced agonists. Recent advances in structural biology and pharmacology have provided valuable mechanistic insights into receptor activation and biased signaling. High-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures revealed the conformational basis of signal bias, enabling the rational design of fully G protein-biased agonists that retain cardiovascular benefits while avoiding hypertrophic effects. This review summarizes recent progress in APLNR signaling mechanisms and biased ligand development, highlighting a number of emerging strategies for the precision pharmacological targeting of this receptor.

PMID:
42928015
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 26 Oct 2026.

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