Acrosomal exocytosis in mammalian spermatozoa is a process essential for fertilization. We report here that atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) markedly stimulates acrosomal exocytosis of capacitated human spermatozoa. Typically, ANP exerts some of its actions via activation of the ANP receptor (ANPR-A), a particulate guanylyl cyclase-linked receptor, and subsequent formation of guanosine 3',5'-cy...

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and nitric oxide (NO) are key regulators of ion and water transport in the kidney. Here, we report that these cGMP-elevating hormones stimulate Ca2+ reabsorption via a novel mechanism specifically involving type II cGMP-dependent protein kinase (cGK II). ANP and the NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), markedly increased Ca2+ uptake in freshly immunodissected r...

OBJECTIVES This study was designed to examine the protective effects of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) on contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) after coronary angiography. BACKGROUND Contrast-induced nephropathy is a common complication after angiography. Some studies have shown that ANP has renal protective effects, but the beneficial effects for CIN prevention remain to be clearly shown. M...

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), via its guanylyl cyclase A (GC-A) receptor and intracellular guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate production, is critically involved in the regulation of blood pressure. In patients with chronic heart failure, the plasma levels of ANP are increased, but the cardiovascular actions are severely blunted, indicating a receptor or postreceptor defect. Studies on met...

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is an important regulator of blood pressure (BP). One of the mechanisms whereby ANP impacts BP is by stimulation of nitric oxide (NO) production in different tissues involved in BP control. We hypothesized that ANP-stimulated NO is impaired in the kidneys of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and this contributes to the development and/or maintenance of high ...

Atrial natriuretic peptides (ANP) have recently been identified in both heart and CNS. These peptides possess potent natriuretic, diuretic, and vasorelaxant activities, and are all apparently derived from a single prohormone. Specific ANP binding sites have been characterized in the adrenal zona glomerulosa and kidney cortex, and one study reported ANP binding sites in the CNS. However, a detai...

The problem of machine tool selection among available alternatives has been critical issue for most companies in fast-growing markets for a long time. In the presence of many alternatives and selection criteria, the problem becomes a multiple-criteria decision making (MCDM) machine tool selection problem. Therefore, most companies have utilized various methods to successfully carry out this dif...

The aim of the current study was to present the spatial distribution of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in short-term cultures of pig granulosa cells obtained from small, medium, and large ovarian follicles. The specific immunoreactivity was detected by three monoclonal antibodies recognizing different epitopes of the ANP molecule (Mab 6C3, Mab 6F11, Mab5D3). The specific ANP immunoreactivity ...

In this study, semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis showed that estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and beta (ERbeta) mRNAs are developmentally regulated in the rat heart. We found that ERalpha mRNA was low in all heart chambers of 4-day-old rats, but was elevated in the atria (6- to 18-fold) and ventricles (3- to 4-fold) of adult rats. Western blotting analysis confirmed that thes...

BACKGROUND The hormone atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) causes bronchodilation and partially protects against direct and indirect bronchial challenges. Both in vitro and in vivo studies have found that the protective effect of ANP against bronchoconstriction is enhanced by inhibition of the enzyme neutral endopeptidase (NEP). It was hypothesised that pretreatment with thiorphan, an NEP inhibito...