BACKGROUND Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) or NT-proBNP (N-terminal fragment of BNP precursor) measurements are recommended as aids in diagnosis and prognosis of patients with heart failure. Recently it has been shown that proBNP is O-glycosylated in human blood. The goal of this study was to map sites on the NT-proBNP molecule that should be recognized by antibodies used in optimal NT-proBNP a...

BACKGROUND Plasma BNP levels are predictive of prognosis in hemodialysis patients. However, recent studies showed that the current BNP immunoassay cross-reacts with glycosylated proBNP, and the NT-proBNP assay underestimates glycosylated NT-proBNP. In addition, the recently developed high performance dialyzer removes medium-sized molecular solutes such as β2-microgloburin. We therefore investig...

background: serum n-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (nt-probnp), a polypeptide secreted by ventricular myocytes in response to stretch, was suggested as a predictor of adverse prognosis of the acute coronary syndrome (acs). we examined the association between nt-probnp level and angiographic findings in acs patients to determine whether it could be used as a predictor of the severity of ...

BACKGROUND While the N-terminal pro-brain-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) at rest is known to be associated with prognosis in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), it is unclear if the NT-proBNP response to exercise (ΔNT-proBNP) can contribute to a better assessment of disease severity. METHODS We investigated the association of NT-proBNP values at rest and during peak exercise with hem...

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a 32 amino acid cardiacsynthesized hormone that reduces blood pressure and increases sodium excretion (1 ). Following proteolytic cleavage of proBNP, a 108-amino acid precursor, an Nterminal fragment (NT-proBNP) and BNP are released (2 ). Increased concentrations of BNP and NT-proBNP can be used clinically to monitor heart failure, but a lack of alignment bet...

BACKGROUND The appearance of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in the blood is ultimately caused by proteolytic processing of its precursor, proBNP. The mechanisms leading to the high plasma concentration of unprocessed proBNP are still poorly understood. The goals of the present study were to examine whether processing of proBNP takes place in the circulation and to evaluate the clearance rate ...

BACKGROUND Peptides derived from brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) precursor (proBNP), BNP, and the N-terminal fragment of proBNP (NT-proBNP) are used as biomarkers of heart failure. It remains unclear which forms of these peptides circulate in blood and which forms are measured by assays for these natriuretic peptides. METHODS To design assays for immunodetection of proBNP, NT-proBNP, and BNP,...

BACKGROUND Exercise is associated with changes in circulating B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal-proBNP (NT-proBNP). However, the biological relevance of this phenomenon is poorly examined. We sought to assess determinants of absolute (Δ) and relative (Δ%) exercise-induced changes in BNP and NT-proBNP. METHODS BNP (n = 418) and NT-proBNP (n = 478) at rest and peak exercise were m...

BACKGROUND Recent studies have shown that in addition to brain (or B-type) natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the N-terminal proBNP fragment, levels of intact proBNP are also increased in heart failure. Moreover, present BNP immunoassays also measure proBNP, as the anti-BNP antibody cross-reacts with proBNP. It is important to know the exact levels of proBNP in heart failure, because elevation of th...

BACKGROUND Increases in plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentrations in those with acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF) has been mainly attributed to an increase in NPPB gene transcription. Recently, proBNP glycosylation has emerged as a potential regulatory mechanism in the production of amino-terminal (NT)-proBNP and BNP. The aim of the present study was to investigate proBNP ...