Apelin, an endogenous ligand for apelin receptor (APJ), is reported to be involved in cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. In this study, we explored the mechanism of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy induced by apelin-13/APJ system. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) rat model was established by constricting the abdominal aorta. Western blots were used for protein expression in LVH rats and cultured H9c2 cardiomyocytes. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to monitor morphological features of cells. In addition, the diameter and volume of H9c2 cells ...