Brain natriuretic factor. Augmentation of cellular cyclic GMP, activation of particulate guanylate cyclase and receptor binding.

The newly discovered peptide, brain natriuretic factor (BNF), caused a concentration-dependent increase (up to 400-fold) in intracellular cyclic GMP levels in cultured endothelial, smooth muscle and fibroblast cells. The extent of cGMP augmentation was comparable to that produced by atrial natriuretic factor (ANF). The activity of the membrane-bound guanylate cyclase of different rat tissues and cultured cells was markedly stimulated by the peptide and the addition of ATP potentiated the stimulation. As opposed to tissue particulate guanylate cyclase, the enzyme in cell membranes was slightly more sensitive to activation by BNF than to stimulation by ANF. On bovine aortic smooth muscle (BASM) cells, specific high-affinity binding sites (Bmax = 398 fmol/10(6) cells, Kd = 0.52 nM) for BNF were observed for which ANF could compete with apparently equal affinity. These results suggest that activation of the cGMP pathway constitutes a common mechanism of action for both BNF and ANF.