[Contents and molecular forms of human atrial natriuretic peptide in right and left auricle in patients with heart disease].

Contents and molecular forms of human atrial natriuretic peptide (hANP) in right and left auricle were analyzed by reverse phase high liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), coupled with radioimmunoassay for hANP. Analyses were done with auricles taken from 4 autopsied cases without heart disease, and 13 patients with heart disease. Both right and left auricular hANP contents in patients with heart disease were higher than those obtained at autopsy. In patients with mitral stenosis (MS) or mitral regurgitation (MR) who have left atrial pressure and/or volume overload, hANP contents in left auricle were higher than those in right auricle. In addition, three types of molecular forms of hANP, (gamma) type, (alpha, beta, gamma) type, (beta, gamma) type, were observed in both right and left atrium. In patients with MS or MR, (beta, gamma) type or (alpha, beta, gamma) type which have beta-hANP immunoreactivity were observed in 8 out of 9 in patients in left auricle, however, in 4 out of 9 patients in right auricle. Our results suggested that the difference of contents and molecular forms of hANP may reflect the pathophysiological role in heart diseases.