Regulation of expression of atrial and brain natriuretic peptide, biomarkers for heart development and disease

Irina A. Sergeeva, Vincent M. Christoffels

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

133 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The mammalian heart expresses two closely related natriuretic peptide (NP) hormones, atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). The excretion of the NPs and the expression of their genes strongly respond to a variety of cardiovascular disorders. NPs act to increase natriuresis and decrease vascular resistance, thereby decreasing blood volume, systemic blood pressure and afterload. Plasma levels of BNP are used as diagnostic and prognostic markers for hypertrophy and heart failure (HF), and both ANF and BNP are widely used in biomedical research to assess the hypertrophic response in cell culture or the development of HF related diseases in animal models. Moreover, ANF and BNP are used as specific markers for the differentiating working myocardium in the developing heart, and the ANF promoter serves as platform to investigate gene regulatory networks during heart development and disease. However, despite decades of research, the mechanisms regulating the NP genes during development and disease are not well understood. Here we review current knowledge on the regulation of expression of the genes for ANF and BNP and their role as biomarkers, and give future directions to identify the in vivo regulatory mechanisms. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Heart failure pathogenesis and emerging diagnostic and therapeutic interventions
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2403-2413
JournalBiochimica et Biophysica Acta-Molecular Basis of Disease
Volume1832
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

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