PURPOSE To address the characteristics and the causative factors of radiation-induced cranial nerve palsy (CNP) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients with an extensive period of followed-up. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 317 consecutive and nonselected patients treated with definitive external-beam radiotherapy between November 1962 and February 1995 participated in this study. The med...

Given that the role of C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) in the regulation of vascular tone in hypertensive states is unclear, we hypothesized that impaired response of the nitric oxide system to CNP in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) could affect vascular relaxation induced by the peptide in this model of hypertension, and that other endothelial systems or potassium channels opening could...

POTS is a global public-health disease, but predictor for therapeutic response to metoprolol in children with POTS is lacking. This study was designed to investigate predictive value of plasma C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) in the therapeutic efficacy of metoprolol on postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) in children. Totally 34 children with POTS and 27 healthy children were included in the s...

The natriuretic peptide family consists of three endogenous ligands: atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), and C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP). They exert their biological actions through two subtypes of particulate guanylyl cyclase (GC): GC-A for ANP and BNP, and GC-B for CNP. Among the natriuretic peptide family members, ANP and BNP are cardiac hormones that are ...

The in vitro perfused rectal gland of the dogfish shark (Squalus acanthias) and filter-grown monolayers of primary cultures of shark rectal gland (SRG) epithelial cells were used to analyze the signal transduction pathway by which C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) stimulates chloride secretion. CNP binds to natriuretic receptors in the basolateral membrane, elevates cellular cGMP, and opens cyst...

The interaction of particulate and gaseous pollutants in their effects on the severity of allergic inflammation and airway responsiveness are not well understood. We assessed the effect of exposure to NO(2) in the presence or absence of repetitive treatment with carbon nanoparticle (CNP) during allergen sensitization and challenges in Brown-Norway (BN) rat, in order to assess their interactions...

The high prevalence of obesity in children may increase the magnitude of lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease (CD). At present, explicit data for recommending biomarkers as routine pre-clinical markers of CD in children are lacking. C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is assuming increasing importance in CD; in adults with heart failure, its plasma levels are related to clinical and functional ...

Purpose The c-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) signaling pathway is known as a major contributor to skeletal growth in children. CNP is produced and secreted by both growth plate and joint chondrocytes, and has a paracrine regulatory effect on cartilage tissue. CNP increases matrix production by chondrocytes and promotes their proliferation. In this study, we investigated whether over-expression ...

Efficient islet release from the pancreas requires the combination of collagenase, neutral protease (cNP), or thermolysin (TL). Recently, it has been shown that clostripain (CP) may also contribute to efficient islet release from the human pancreas. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of these proteases on human islet integrity in a prospective approach. Islets were isolated from t...

This study reports the cardiovascular and renal actions of a novel and newly synthesized 27-amino acid peptide termed vasonatrin peptide (VNP). VNP is a chimera of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP). This synthetic peptide possesses the 22-amino acid structure of CNP, which is a cardiovascular selective peptide of endothelial origin and is structurally related...