Endothelial Natriuretic Peptide Receptor 1 Play Crucial Role for Acute and Chronic Blood Pressure Regulation by Atrial Natriuretic Peptide

• Published in: Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. 1979) Vol. 79; no. 7; pp. 1409 - 1422
• Main Authors: Tokudome, Takeshi, Otani, Kentaro, Mao, Yuanjie, Jensen, Lars Jørn, Arai, Yuji, Miyazaki, Takahiro, Sonobe, Takashi, Pearson, James T., Osaki, Tsukasa, Minamino, Naoto, Ishida, Junji, Fukamizu, Akiyoshi, Kawakami, Hayato, Onozuka, Daisuke, Nishimura, Kunihiro, Miyazato, Mikiya, Nishimura, Hirohito
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01.07.2022
• Subjects: hypotension; blood pressure; nitric oxide; body fluids; vasodilation
• ISSN: 0194-911X; 1524-4563; 1524-4563
• DOI: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.121.18114

ANP (atrial natriuretic peptide), acting through NPR1 (natriuretic peptide receptor 1), provokes hypotension. Such hypotension is thought to be due to ANP inducing vasodilation via NPR1 in the vasculature; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we investigated the mechanisms of acute and chronic blood pressure regulation by ANP. Immunohistochemical analysis of rat tissues revealed that NPR1 was abundantly expressed in endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells of small arteries and arterioles. Intravenous infusion of ANP significantly lowered systolic blood pressure in wild-type mice. ANP also significantly lowered systolic blood pressure in smooth muscle cell-specific -knockout mice but not in endothelial cell-specific -knockout mice. Moreover, ANP significantly lowered systolic blood pressure in -knockout mice. In human umbilical vein endothelial cells, treatment with ANP did not influence nitric oxide production or intracellular Ca concentration, but it did hyperpolarize the cells. ANP-induced hyperpolarization of human umbilical vein endothelial cells was inhibited by several potassium channel blockers and was also abolished under knockdown of RGS2 (regulator of G-protein signaling 2), an GTPase activating protein in G-protein α-subunit. ANP increased mRNA expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells but failed to lower systolic blood pressure in -knockout mice. Endothelial cell-specific -overexpressing mice exhibited lower blood pressure than did wild-type mice independent of RGS2, and showed dilation of arterial vessels on synchrotron radiation microangiography. Together, these results indicate that vascular endothelial NPR1 plays a crucial role in ANP-mediated blood pressure regulation, presumably by a mechanism that is RGS2-dependent in the acute phase and RGS2-independent in the chronic phase.