AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 255, Issue 6 867-R873, Copyright © 1988 by American Physiological Society
Atrial natriuretic hormone effect on renal function and aldosterone secretion in sodium depletion
Y. Shenker
Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The effects of atrial natriuretic hormone (ANH) on aldosterone secretion
and renal function have been well documented, but the physiological role of
ANH is still unknown. To address this issue, eight normal men were infused
for 4 h with low-dose (1.1 pmol.kg-1.min-1) human [Ser-Tyr28]ANH after 3
days of low-salt (LS) diet. The same subjects were also studied with
placebo infusion on LS and high-salt (HS) diet. ANH infusion caused
doubling of urine flow, a fourfold increase in urinary sodium excretion,
and a slight increase in potassium excretion. Immunoreactive ANH levels
increased from 3.1 +/- 0.5 to 21.0 +/- 1.9 pmol/l during ANH infusion. ANH
infusion suppressed plasma renin activity (PRA) to one-third of the basal
value, and plasma aldosterone was suppressed from 46.5 +/- 6.5 to 20.9 +/-
2.6 ng/dl. Low-dose ANH infusion caused a marked increase in urine flow and
urinary sodium excretion and prominent suppression of PRA and plasma
aldosterone in sodium-depleted subjects. These results suggest a
physiological significance of ANH in regulation of kidney function and
aldosterone secretion.
