Rapid increase in plasma and urinary cyclic GMP after bolus injection of atrial natriuretic factor in man.

We studied the effects of a bolus injection of 50/micrograms synthetic human atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) on the cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP levels in plasma and urine of eight normal men. Administration of the hormone increased basal immunoreactive (IR-) ANF levels in plasma 2.8-fold to 110 pM three minutes after injection. Thereafter, IR-ANF levels rapidly declined to basal levels. Plasma cyclic GMP levels increased 2.6-fold to 16.6 nM within 6 minutes after ANF and decreased to near basal values within 30 minutes. Urinary cyclic GMP excretion increased 2.8-fold, whereas urinary volume and sodium excretion increased less than two-fold in the 30 minutes after ANF. Plasma cyclic AMP levels did not change. The data indicate that changes in plasma IR-ANF levels are followed by changes in plasma cyclic GMP and in urinary cyclic GMP excretion and suggest that cyclic GMP is a biological marker for circulating ANF in man.