Weight reduction decreases the circulating concentration of the N-terminus of the ANF prohormone.

The N-terminus of the atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) prohormone (ie, proANF 1-98) contains two vasodilatory peptides consisting of amino acids (aa): aa 1-30 (ie, proANF 1-30) and aa 31-67 (ie, proANF 31-67) of the 126 aa prohormone. The relationship of this N-terminus to the renin-aldosterone axis and blood pressure reduction was investigated in 18 obese subjects (5 hypertensive and 13 normotensive) placed on a 12-week, low sodium (40 mmol), weight reducing diet. The N-terminus of the ANF prohormone and proANF 31-67, which circulates as a distinct entity after being proteolytically cleaved from the N-terminus, were significantly (p less than 0.001) higher (767 +/- 1.01 and 816 +/- 135 fmol/ml) in the obese hypertensive group compared with the obese normotensive group (377 +/- 24 and 356 +/- 17 fmol/ml, respectively) prior to beginning the weight reduction program. There was a dramatic fall in the N-terminus and in proANF 31-67 after 1 week of weight reduction in both obese groups, which correlated with the decrease in mean arterial pressure during the first week and throughout the 12 weeks of weight reduction (r = .54, p less than 0.001 and r = .59, p less than 0.001, respectively). ProANF 1-98 had a significant (p less than 0.01) inverse correlation with plasma renin in both obese groups. ProANF 31-67, likewise, had an inverse correlation with plasma renin in the hypertensive (p less than 0.002), as well as the normotensive (p less than 0.03) subjects. ProANF 31-67 did not significantly correlate with aldosterone in either group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)