Differences between natriuretic peptide receptors in the olfactory bulb and hypothalamus from spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive rat brain.

Natriuretic peptide receptor-A (NPR-A) functional characteristics in the hypothalamus and olfactory bulb (OB) have been investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Autoradiographic studies demonstrate a decreased number of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) binding sites in the olfactory bulb and hypothalamus in SHR compared to WKY rats. We found that NPR-A showed a lower maximal binding capacity (B(max)) and higher affinity in SHR than in WKY rats both in the olfactory bulb and hypothalamus. However, despite the lower B(max) in SHR, both ANP(1-28) and ANP(5-25) stimulated similar or greater cGMP production than in WKY rats. These differences were found even before the development of hypertension. NPR-A in the olfactory bulb and hypothalamus from 3-week-old SHR showed a lower B(max) and K(d) and a higher cGMP production rate than in WKY rats, suggesting that these characteristics are intrinsic of NPR-A in SHR, instead of being a result of hypertension itself. The present study provides evidences for altered NPR-A receptor properties and function in the olfactory bulb and hypothalamus from SHR, which might be involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension.