title: Atrial natriuretic factor--its possible role in the pathogenesis and therapy of arterial hypertension.
abstract: Using radioimmunoassay the authors investigated the plasma concentration of the immunoreactive atrial natriuretic factor (IR-ANF) and its content in the atria of 4-, 8-, 12-, 16-, and 20-weeks-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and compared the results with data obtained in normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats of the same age. With hypertension accelerating in SHR between the 8th and the 20th weeks of life, IR-ANF content in the atrium gradually decreased, and the plasma IR-ANF concentration increased. The decline in IR-ANF was due to its decrease primarily in the left atrium. Long-term (6-day) administration of synthetic ANF to SHR with fully developed hypertension led to normalization of BP. The results do not support the hypothesis that arterial hypertension in SHR is induced by a primary deficiency of ANF. The changes in IR-ANF in the atria and plasma occur rather as an adaptive and regulatory response to increasing BP. Prolonged administration of ANF to SHR had a hypotensive effect. Therapeutic application of ANF in man depends on the development of oral and long-acting analogues.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D009320:Atrial Natriuretic Factor / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY
chemical_list: D009320:Atrial Natriuretic Factor