Endocrine Abstracts

Natriuretic peptides and their cGMP-synthesizing guanylyl cyclase receptors (GC-A, receptor for ANP and BNP; GC-B, for CNP) are critically involved in the regulation of arterial blood pressure (all NPs) and skeletal growth (only CNP). Both receptors are expressed in all cardiac cell types, although at different densities. GC-A is expressed at higher levels in endothelial and smooth muscle cells, whereas GC-B predominates in myocytes and fibroblasts. In heart failure (HF) patie...

The cardiovascular properties of the natriuretic peptide family of hormones are well-characterised, and provide valuable prognostic indicators in the treatment of heart failure in humans and companion animals. Of the three main mammalian natriuretic peptides, C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) remains the most enigmatic, even though CNP represents the ancestral natriuretic peptide from which Atrial- (ANP) and B-type (BNP) natriuretic peptides evolved through gene duplication. We...

Natriuretic peptides are a family of vasoactive mediators that play fundamental roles in the regulation of blood volume, blood pressure and cardiac integrity. The physiological and pathological functions of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in the context of cardiovascular homeostasis are well-characterised. There is much less clarity with respect to C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) which, in contrast to its cardiac-derived siblings, is predo...