Atrial natriuretic peptide accelerates proliferation of chick embryonic cardiomyocytes in vitro

The developing embryonic heart has been reported to contain significant levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP). In this study, the role of ANP in cardiac development was evaluated using cultured cardiomyocytes isolated from chick embryos. We analyzed the effect of ANP on cell number, DNA synthesis, total RNA level, the expression of cell-cycle-specific and sarcomeric proteins, and levels of lactate dehydrogenase and creatine phosphokinase. ANP increased overall DNA synthesis (measured by BrdU incorporation, P