Regulation of secretion and clearance of C-type natriuretic peptide in the interaction of vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells

Objective. To clarify the significance of C-type natriuretic peptide in the interaction between endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells by investigating the endothelial production of C-type natriuretic peptide and the clearance mechanism of C-type natriuretic peptide using the endothelial cells-smooth muscle cells co-culture system. Results. Secretion of C-type natriuretic peptide in the direct co-culture of endothelial cells with smooth muscle cells elicited as much as a 60-fold increase compared with endothelial cells alone. The accumulation of intracellular cyclic GMP in the co-culture was consequently increased and the elevation of cyclic GMP level in the co-culture was abolished by the anti-C-type natriuretic peptide monoclonal antibody. The elevated cyclic GMP production in the co-culture was abolished by the anti-transforming growth factor-β neutralizing antibody. Candoxatrilat (10^-6-10^-4 mol/l), a neutral endopeptidase inhibitor, dose-dependently increased the concentrations of C-type natriuretic peptide in the culture medium with endothelial cells alone, but not in the endothelial cells-smooth muscle cells co-culture. The transcript of neutral endopeptidase messenger RNA was detected in endothelial cells but not in smooth muscle cells by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Treatment with C-atrial natriuretic factor (10^-9-10^-6 mol/l), the specific ligand for the clearance receptor of the natriuretic peptides, resulted in dose-dependent augmentation of C-type natriuretic peptide concentration and concomitant intracellular cyclic GMP production in the endothelial cells-smooth muscle cells co-culture but not in endothelial cells alone. Conclusion. The present study demonstrated that direct interaction between endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells augments C-type natriuretic peptide secretion from endothelial cells through transforming growth factor-β activation, and revealed that the enzymatic degradation is responsible for the steady state level of C-type natriuretic peptide in endothelial cells alone and that the receptor-mediated clearance mainly determines the augmented level of C-type natriuretic peptide in the interaction between endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells. The results taken together raise the possibility that endothelial C-type natriuretic peptide might play a role in regulation of vascular tone and remodelling.