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Distribution of atrial natriuretic peptide in the conduction system and ventricular muscles of the human heart

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Summary

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), a cardiac hormone, is known to be located in the atrial specific granules, but its presence and localization in the ventricular muscle of the human heart has not been examined fully. Using a specific antibody to human ANP, we studied the conduction system and ventricular muscle with immunohistochemical and ultrastructural methods in 30 hearts obtained at autopsy. These included 12 normal and 18 diseased hearts. In the normal hearts, ANP-positive granules, which were regularly observed in the atrial myocytes, were found in small quantities in the cells of the penetrating and branching bundles in 4 of 12, and in the cells of the ventricular free walls in 2 of the 12 hearts. In the diseased hearts, the positivity increased significantly (P<0.05), being found in 13 of 18 (72.2%) conduction systems and 10 of 18 (55.6%) ventricular muscles. The granules were confirmed to be immunoreactive with ANP by ultrastructural examination. Furthermore, the presence of ANP mRNA in the conduction system as well as in the ventricular myocytes was demonstrated by Northern blot hybridization for which we used the complementary DNA of human ANP. Thus, a small quantity of ANP appears to be synthesized and stored in the conduction system and ventricles of some normal hearts. However, ANP was shown to be present in a larger percentage of the diseased hearts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, 060, Sapporo, Japan

    Naoki Mochizuki, Hirofumi Sawa & Hisakazu Yasuda

  2. Department of Pathology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, North 15, West 7, Kitaku, 060, Sapporo, Japan

    Toshiya Shinohara & Kazuo Nagashima

  3. Third Division of Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo University Hospital, 113, Tokyo, Japan

    Toru Yamaji

  4. Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Suntory Medical and Pharmacological Center, 618, Osaka, Japan

    Norio Ohnuma

  5. Department of Medicine, North Shore University Hospital, Cornell University Medical College, 11030, New York, NY, USA

    William W. Hall

Authors
  1. Naoki Mochizuki
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  2. Hirofumi Sawa
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  3. Hisakazu Yasuda
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  4. Toshiya Shinohara
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  5. Kazuo Nagashima
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  6. Toru Yamaji
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  7. Norio Ohnuma
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  8. William W. Hall
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Mochizuki, N., Sawa, H., Yasuda, H. et al. Distribution of atrial natriuretic peptide in the conduction system and ventricular muscles of the human heart. Vichows Archiv A Pathol Anat 418, 9–16 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01600239

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01600239

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