[Concentration of the atrial natriuretic factor in the atria and blood plasma in the development of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats].

The contribution of atrial natriuretic factor to the development of spontaneous arterial hypertension was investigated in rats (the SHR line). Prehypertensive atrial and plasma levels of a natriuretic factor were similar in SHR to those of the control WKY rats. In fully-developed hypertension, the factor content decreases in left-atrial wall and increases in the plasma. It is assumed that elevated arterial blood pressure affects myo-endocrine left-atrial cells, leading to hypersecretion of the natriuretic factor. This kind of secretory response might be an adaptive/compensatory mechanism of blood pressure control.