Atrial natriuretic hormones--thirty years after the discovery of atrial volume receptors.

Twenty-five years after the discoveries of the existence of atrial granules and of volume receptors in the heart atria the search for natriuretic hormones has led to the isolation and identification of the atrial natriuretic factors (ANF) now considered as a hormonal system. These peptides are probably synthesized and stored in the Golgi apparatus of cardiac myocytes and are released in response to atrial wall stretch following acute plasma volume expansion and increased central blood volume, e.g., during head-out water immersion, in arterial hypertension, or increased left and/or right atrial pressure in cardiac failure, but also possibly in response to increased frequency of myocardial contractions, e.g. in paroxysmal tachycardia. The mechanisms of the renal action of these potent natriuretic hormones are not yet precisely known. Increased GFR may contribute to the initial rise in urinary sodium excretion and increased renal medullary blood flow to the later phase of natriuresis. The proximal tubule, the thin descending and the ascending limb of Henle's loop and especially the medullary collecting tubule were so far incriminated as tubular sites of action of ANF. Finally, recycling of sodium in medullary tissue and secretion of sodium via back-flux from the interstitium into the medullary collecting tubule are postulated to result in the hypernatric urine observed after ANF administration. Direct suppression of the secretion of renin, aldosterone, vasopressin, and vasopressin-stimulated cAMP synthesis may also contribute to its diuretic, natriuretic, and antihypertensive effects. The renal hemodynamic and tubular as well as the adrenal and systemic vascular effects are related to enhanced cGMP synthesis in medium-sized arterial vessels, in glomeruli and specific tubular segments, and in adrenal tissue, and may be calcium dependent. Specific ANF-binding sites were detected in these target organs. Although increased ANF release was observed in response to atrial distension in various disease states, which may contribute to renal sodium elimination in human hypertension and congestive heart failure, further studies are needed to identify its precise physiological and pathophysiological significance.