Atrial peptides induce mast cell histamine release

Human atrial natriuretic peptide [ANF(1–28)] contains five arginine residues and carries an overall positive change of four. It was hypothesized that atrial peptides may induce mast cell histamine release. In vitro, three atrial peptides [ANF(1–28), (3–28) and (5–28)] were demonstrated to induce dose-dependent histamine release from isolated rat peritoneal mast cells. In vivo, ANF(3–28) produced a dose-dependent increase in rat skin permeability which was blocked by antagonists of histamine and serotonin. The results indicate atrial peptides are capable of inducing mast cell degranulation in a manner similar to that described for other positively charged peptides.