Pharmacological Therapy in the Heart as an Alternative to Cellular Therapy: A Place for the Brain Natriuretic Peptide?

Figure 6

BNP modulation of cardiac precursor cell (CPC) proliferation and differentiation. BNP is secreted during physiological growth by cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells. CPCs can also secrete BNP. BNP stimulates via NPR-A CPC proliferation and via NPR-B CPC differentiation into cardiomyocytes. In pathophysiological conditions, it seems that the secreted BNP is devoid of biological activity, suggesting that BNP can be injected to stimulate the CPC proliferation and differentiation. This representation is based on the results previously published [117].