Atrial natriuretic factor and its role in the regulation of electrolyte, volume and pressure homeostasis

Atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) is a humoral agent isolated in recent years from cardiac atrial tissue, and produced by atrial cardiocytes as a peptide precursor containing 152 amino acids. In secretory atrial granules, it is stored in reserve form as a prohormone and released into circulation as a 28-amino acid peptide from the C-terminal portion of the peptide precursor representing the active circulating hormone. ANF possesses potent natriuretic, myorelaxant, vasodilatory and blood pressure-lowering properties. Besides, it inhibits renin, aldosterone and vasopressin secretion. It is present also in the CNS and its function is closely related to the sympathetics nerves. By its direct renal and vascular effect, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and vasopressin inhibition and, by its neuromodulatory action on the central and sympathetic nerves, ANF plays an important role in electrolyte, volume and pressure homeostasis. The development of a radioimmunoassay for ANF determination in the plasma of rats and man enabled us to follow up its changes under various experimental conditions (water deprivation, increased or decreased salt intake, effect of anaesthetics, ontogenetic changes in ANF concentration during development of hypertension in the spontaneously hypertensive rat) and in clinical studies (effect of ECV expansion in controls, arterial hypertension, liver cirrhosis as well as ANF changes in congestive heart failure or chronic renal failure). These findings of ours have supported the concept that ANF represents an important adaptive and corrective mechanism mobilized during intravascular volume and blood pressure changes in an effort to normalize these. ANF is expected to find use also in the treatment of oedema, arterial hypertension and acute renal failure.