Renal intra-arterial administration of rat atrial extracts elicits a concentration dependent renal vasodilation (independent of prostaglandin or dopamine release) in anesthetized rats. The atrial extracts do not alter skeletal musculature (hindlimb) vascular resistance or systemic arterial blood pressure. The high molecular weight peptide fraction of atrial extracts obtained by gel filtration, ...

Correspondence to: Professor Paulo M Bettencourt, Unidade Cuidados Intermédios Medicina, Hospital S Joaõ, Alameda Hernani Monteiro, 4200 Porto, Portugal; pbettfer@ esoterica.pt _________________________ T he identification of natriuretic peptides led to an explosion of basic and clinical investigations to clarify their physiology, pathophysiologic role in heart failure, and clinical usefulness....

Natriuretic peptide receptor A (NPR-A) is an essential cardiovascular regulator that is stimulated by atrial natriuretic peptide and B-type natriuretic peptide, whereas natriuretic peptide receptor B (NPR-B) stimulates long bone growth in a C-type natriuretic peptide-dependent manner. Many reports indicate that ATP is essential for NPR-A and NPR-B activation. Current models suggest that natriur...

Renal intra-arterial administration of rat atrial extracts elicits a concentration dependent renal vasodilation (independent of prostaglandin or dopamine release) in anesthetized rats. The atrial extracts do not alter skeletal musculature (hindlimb) vascular resistance or systemic arterial blood pressure. The high molecular weight peptide fraction of atrial extracts obtained by gel filtration, ...

sarily induce a large increase in left ventricular wall stress because of the obliterated left ventricular cavity in midto late systole as a result of hyperdynamic ejection. This reasoning was supported by micromanometer left ventricular and aortic pressure and flow measurements, but challenged by the outcome of myectomy surgery which resulted in significant improvement in symptoms and in radio...

BACKGROUND Resistant hypertension is a common clinical problem and greatly increases the risk of target organ damage. METHODS We evaluated the characteristics of 279 consecutive patients with resistant hypertension (uncontrolled despite the use of 3 antihypertensive agents) and 53 control subjects (with normotension or hypertension controlled by using <or=2 antihypertensive medications). Part...

A heterozygous frameshift mutation causing a 12-amino acid extension to the C terminus of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was recently genetically linked to patients with familial atrial fibrillation (Hodgson-Zingman, D. M., Karst, M. L., Zingman, L. V., Heublein, D. M., Darbar, D., Herron, K. J., Ballew, J. D., de Andrade, M., Burnett, J. C., Jr., and Olson, T. M. (2008) N. Engl. J. Med. 359,...

Chronic treatment with suprapharmacologic doses of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists has a known potential for causing left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). The mechanism by which LVH develops is not well understood nor are biomarkers of it well characterized. Natriuretic peptides are important regulators of cardiac growth, blood volume, and arterial pressure and may be u...

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is a cardiac hormone involved in the regulation of fluid balance and blood pressure homeostasis. Using conventional reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction and amplification, preproANP transcript from Rana ridibunda heart ventricle was cloned and characterized. Sequence analysis of the complete cDNA revealed an open reading frame for a 146residue pep...