Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) are similar in their ability to promote natriuresis and diuresis and act as vasodilators. These actions are counterbalanced by the vasoconstrictive and sodium-retaining actions of the renin-angiotensinaldosteron system. Both systems help to maintain sodium and fluid volume homeostasis in a healthy cardio-renal environment. C-t...

Natriuretic peptides and the reninangiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) have reciprocal effects at multiple sites and in varied situations. They interact in health and cardiovascular disease to influence renal, endocrine, and haemodynamic function and cardiovascular cell growth. The atrial natriuretic peptide (atrial natriuretic factor, ANF) discovered by De Bold in 19811 was cloned and sequenc...

OBJECTIVES This paper will describe associations between plasma natriuretic peptide levels and the severity and symptoms of mitral regurgitation (MR). BACKGROUND A biochemical test that assisted grading of the severity of MR and the interpretation of symptoms would be of clinical value. METHODS Forty-nine patients with isolated MR and left ventricular (LV) ejection fractions (EFs) of >55% u...

AIMS The degree of systolic dysfunction does not always correlate with functional impairment in patients with congestive heart failure. In contrast, diastolic dysfunction correlates well with functional impairment. In heart failure, both elevation of N-terminal proatrial natriuretic peptide and B-type natriuretic peptide are markers of a poor prognosis. METHODS We investigated 32 patients (26...

BACKGROUND Plasma cardiac natriuretic peptides and peptide fragments from their molecular precursors are markers of heart disease. Clinical studies have defined the current diagnostic utility of these markers, whereas biochemical elucidation of peptide structure and posttranslational processing has revealed new plasma peptide forms of potential clinical use. CONTENT Natriuretic propeptide str...

Three atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) receptors, ANP(A), ANP(B), and ANP(C), have been identified in the heart, suggesting that natriuretic peptides may have direct effects on cardiac function. To characterize the possible role of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in the regulation of its own secretion, we studied here the effects of ANP (greater affinity for ANP(A) than for ANP(B) receptors) a...

To elucidate the physiological and pathophysiological roles of the natriuretic peptide family in vascular smooth muscle cells, in which the natriuretic peptide family is implicated in growth inhibition as well as vasorelaxation, we have examined the phenotype-related expression of three kinds of natriuretic peptide receptors in rat aortic smooth muscle cells. The expression of natriuretic pepti...