Natriuretic peptides inhibit mesangial cell production of endothelin induced by arginine vasopressin.

The present study examined the effects of atrial, brain, and C-type natriuretic peptides (ANP, BNP, and CNP, respectively) on endothelin-1 (ET-1) secretion after stimulation with arginine vasopressin (AVP), using cultured rat glomerular mesangial cells. AVP stimulated immunoreactive (ir) ET-1 secretion in a concentration-dependent manner via a receptor-mediated process. Rat ANP-(1-28) and rat BNP-45 potently inhibited this stimulated secretion in a concentration-dependent manner. Inhibition by ANP and BNP of AVP-stimulated ET-1 secretion was paralleled by an increase in the medium level of guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP). The addition of a cGMP analogue, 8-bromo-cGMP, reduced the stimulated ET-1 secretion. CNP was much less effective than rat ANP-(1-28) or rat BNP-45 with respect to inhibiting irET-1 secretion and increasing cGMP levels. High-performance liquid chromatography indicated that the major component of irET-1 in the culture medium corresponds to ET-1-(1-21). These findings indicate that AVP stimulates ET-1 secretion in cultured rat mesangial cells and that rat ANP and BNP inhibit this stimulated secretion, probably through a cGMP-dependent process.