The apelin receptor is a G protein-coupled receptor to which two ligand fragments, apelin-(65-77) and apelin-(42-77), can bind. To address the physiological significance of the existence of dual ligands for a single receptor, we first compared the ability of the apelin fragments to regulate intracellular effectors, to promote G protein coupling, and to desensitize the response in Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing the murine apelin receptor. We found that both apelin fragments inhibited adenylyl cyclase and increased the phosphorylation of ERK or Akt. Using stably transfected cells expressing a pertussis toxin-insensitive ␣ i subunit, we demonstrated that each apelin fragment promoted coupling of the apelin receptor to either G␣ i1 or G␣ i2 but not to G␣ i3 . Although preincubation with each apelin fragment induced a desensitization at the level of the three effectors, preincubation with apelin-(42-77) also increased basal effector activity. In addition, a C-terminal deletion of the apelin receptor decreased the desensitization induced by apelin-(65-77) but did not alter the desensitization pattern induced by apelin-(42-77). Finally, in umbilical endothelial cells, which we have recently shown to express the apelin receptor, the G␣ i1 and G␣ i2 subunits are also expressed, ERK and Akt phosphorylation is desensitized after preincubation with apelin-(65-77), and basal levels of Akt phosphorylation are increased after preincubation with apelin-(42-77). In summary, apelin fragments regulate the same effectors, via the preferential coupling of the apelin receptor to G i1 or G i2 , but they promote a differential desensitization pattern that may be central to their respective physiological roles.The recently discovered apelin signaling pathway plays a role in the central and peripheral regulation of the cardiovascular system, in water and food intake, and possibly in immune function (for a review, see Ref.1). The apelin receptor was first identified in human (2) and amphibians (3), and the murine receptor was later cloned from embryonic tissues (4). The deduced protein sequence of these three orthologs revealed that the apelin receptor is a member of the G protein-coupled, seventransmembrane domain receptor family and displays a structural relationship with angiotensin receptors (2) and CXC chemokine receptors (3, 5). However, angiotensin II did not bind to it, and the receptor remained orphan until the identification of apelin, its endogenous ligand (6). Cloning of the apelin gene showed that it codes for a preproprotein of 77 residues containing a signal peptide, which, after proteolytic maturation, generates the apelin fragment of 36 amino acids, apelin-(42-77), first isolated from stomach extracts (6). Although the existence of several endogenous apelin fragments was inferred from the presence of conserved basic doublets in the protein sequence, their physiological occurrence has been validated by the characterization of two active peaks from stomach extracts (6) and by gel filtration chromatography of colostr...