Role of cnp in human airways: cgmp-mediated stimulation of ciliary
beat frequency.
Geary, C. A., C. W. Davis, A. M. Paradiso, R. C. Boucher.
Department of Medicine and 2Department of Physiology, University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
APStracts 2:0019L, 1995.
Ciliated airway epithelial cells contribute to mucociliary transport
systems via ciliary beating and electrolyte transport mechanisms.
Both of these activities are regulated by agonists acting through
intracellular calcium- and cAMP-dependent processes (5,15,18,27).
This study examines the role of cGMP in the regulation of both
ciliary beat frequency (CBF) and electrolyte transport in human
airway epithelia (HAE). In a previous report, cGMP production in HAE
was observed after stimulation with either C-type natriuretic peptide
(CNP) or sodium nitroprusside (6). In this study, CNP was found to
increase CBF by 30 +/- 6.9%, and this effect was mimicked by the cGMP
analog, 8Br-cGMP, but not by sodium nitroprusside. CNP-induced
increases in CBF do not appear to be mediated by changes in either
intracellular calcium or cAMP levels. Using modified Ussing chambers,
we also investigated CNP's potential modulation of sodium and
chloride transport rates. Neither CNP, NP nor 8-Br-cGMP altered
active ion transport rates. In conclusion, CNP regulates ciliary beat
via cGMP-dependent mechanisms, whereas no effect of CNP or cGMP on
ion transport was detected.
Received 1 August 1994; accepted in final form 25 January 1995.
APS Manuscript Number L215-4.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Lung Cell. Mol.
Physiology).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1995 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 24 February 1995.