Endothelium-dependent ANF secretion in vitro.

Coculture of endothelial cells with atrial cells (R. A. Lew and A. J. Baertschi. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 163: 701-709, 1989) increased atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) release to 205 +/- 15% (n = 33 experiments) of basal secretion (2.02 +/- 0.33 ng/ml). Stimulation of ANF release by endothelial cells was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) by addition of the calcium channel antagonist nicardipine (Nic, 100 nM; by 69 +/- 4%), the guanylate cyclase activator sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 1 microM; by 97 +/- 27%), or acetylcholine (ACh, 10 microM; by 55 +/- 13%). Endothelial cell-conditioned medium elicited a 62 +/- 10% (n = 10) increase in ANF release. Rat and porcine endothelin (0.1-100 nM) each elicited a dose-dependent increase in ANF release [up to 84 +/- 14% (n = 18) over baseline]. The activity of conditioned medium was not affected by heat or trypsin treatment, but was significantly reduced by addition of Nic or SNP and was attenuated by ACh. Stimulation of ANF by 1 nM synthetic rat or porcine endothelin was also unaffected by heat or trypsin but was significantly reduced by Nic, SNP, and ACh. Addition of endothelin-specific antiserum abolished the ANF stimulatory activity of endothelial cell-conditioned medium. Neither inhibition of superoxide anion by superoxide dismutase nor inhibition of endothelium-derived nitric oxide production by NG-monomethyl-L-arginine affected the ANF release from coculture. Thus endothelial cells release a heat-stable, diffusible ANF stimulatory factor, which is not endothelium-derived relaxing factor or superoxide anion but is biologically and immunologically similar to endothelin.