Natriuretic peptide binding and clearance

Historical perspective A series of experiments done in the mid 1950s established the heart as an endocrine organ. First, Kisch and colleagues detected secretory granules in guineapig atria. Henry and Pearce subsequently described increased urinary flow after balloon stretch of the canine left atrium. In an experiment done 25 years later, de Bold injected homogenised atrial tissue into rats and noted increased sodium excretion and urinary volume. In 1984, the structure of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was identified, and in 1988 a compound was isolated from pig brain that caused natriuretic and diuretic responses similar to ANP. Although this peptide was called brain (B-type) natriuretic peptide (BNP), the primary site of BNP synthesis is ventricular myocardium. In 1990 a third member of the natriuretic peptide family was identified, also from pig brain, and called C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP). CNP is structurally distinct from ANP and BNP and is expressed to a much greater extent in CNS and vascular tissues than in the heart.