POSSIBLE INVOLVEMENT OF ATRIAL NATRIURETIC PEPTIDES IN OLFACTION

Atrial natriuretic peptides (ANP) are a family of humoral compounds re leased from the heart atria and involved in water and salt homeostasis . ANP immunoreactivity and ANP-binding sites were also found in severa l areas of the central nervous system including the olfactory bulb. In the present study, the possible involvement of ANP in olfaction was t ested by measuring the content and distribution of IR-ANP and ANP-bind ing sites in rat olfactory bulb in control and odor-stimulated rats. T he results implicate ANP in the processes leading to olfactory percept ion.