Cloning and sequence analysis of cDNA encoding a precursor for porcine brain natriuretic peptide

Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a new type of natriuretic peptide recently identified in porcine brain. Since the highest concentration of BNP was found in the cardiac atrium, the cDNA library of porcine cardiac atrium was constructed, and the cDNA clone encoding a BNP precursor was isolated and sequenced. The precursor for porcine BNP (porcine prepro-BNP) is 131 amino acids in length, including a 25 residue putative signal peptide at the N-terminus. Porcine BNP structure is located at the C-terminus of the precursor and is directly followed by a termination codon. Based on structural data recently obtained for gamma-BNP (a main storage form of BNP in the heart), prepro-BNP is processed to 106-residue gamma-BNP by removal of the signal peptide in the heart, and to low molecular weight forms, such as BNP-26 and BNP-32, in the brain.