Relaxant effects of alpha-human atrial natriuretic peptide on venous smooth muscle

1 The present study has examined the relaxant effects of alpha-human atrial natriuretic peptide (alpha-hANP) and sodium nitroprusside on dog saphenous vein ring preparations; responses were tested on a background of tone corresponding to 30% and 80% of maximal contraction. Also tested on the lower background of tone were the responses to carbachol, M&B 22,948, forskolin and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). The vascular responses to alpha-hANP and carbachol were also examined in dog splenic artery ring preparations. 2 On a background of tone corresponding to 30% of maximal contraction, both alpha-hANP and sodium nitroprusside were found to relax venous ring preparations with IC50 values of 6 x 10(-8) and 2 x 10(-7) M, respectively. When the background of tone was raised to 80% of maximal contraction, the relaxant effect of sodium nitroprusside was significantly reduced and that of alpha-hANP became almost completely abolished; the IC50 value for sodium nitroprusside in these experimental conditions was 2 x 10(-6) M. 3 The cGMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor M&B 22,948 was found to produce a concentration-dependent relaxation, with an IC50 value of 2 x 10(-6)M in saphenous vein rings with a background of tone corresponding to 30% of maximal contraction. By contrast, saphenous vein rings were found to be insensitive to carbachol. Forskolin and IBMX were also found to produce concentration-dependent relaxing responses of venous preparations, with IC50 values of 2 x 10(-7) and 7 x 10(-7) M, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)