Atrial natriuretic factor elicits an endothelium-independent relaxation and activates particulate guanylate cyclase in vascular smooth muscle.

A 26 amino acid synthetic peptide fragment of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) relaxed isolated rabbit aortic segments in which the endothelium was either intact or functionally destroyed. The relaxations were temporally associated with increases in levels of cGMP with no change in the levels of cAMP. The ANF-induced increases in cGMP were also observed in aortic segments pretreated with calcium-free buffer or the cGMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor M&B 22,948. Qualitatively similar results were obtained for sodium nitroprusside. ANF selectively activated particulate guanylate cyclase, having no effect on the soluble form of the enzyme. Thus, the direct (endothelium-independent) vasodilator effect of ANF may be mediated via increased tissue levels of cGMP. ANF appears to increase vascular cGMP levels by activation of particulate guanylate cyclase.