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Written for a broad, cross-disciplinary audience, the Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry addresses the fundamental discipline of biological chemistry underlying virtually all of the life sciences. This compilation of more than 500 different entries encompasses all aspects of biochemistry, as well as the extensions of this subject into the related fields of molecular biology, cell biology, genetics and biophysics. This comprehensive encyclopedia covers all areas of biological chemistry written by more than 500 selected international experts. Articles are generously illustrated including more than 800 images in four-color. Each entry contains a clear, concise review of the topic along with illustrations, a glossary of technical terms and a section for additional reading. Each entry further contains general background and term definitions as well as a comprehensive review of the current research in the field. Students, science journalists and scientists seeking a concise introduction to specific topics will appreciate the clear, tabular format of each entry.
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Natriuretic Peptides and their Receptors Lincoln R. Potter University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
The first natriuretic peptide to be identified was atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), which was originally called atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) because of its unknown structure. It was discovered by de Bold and co-workers in 1981. They found that intravenous infusion of atrial, but not ventricular, homogenates into rats caused a rapid and dramatic increase in renal sodium and water excretion that was accompanied by reduced blood pressure. Subsequently, a smooth muscle relaxing activity was shown to cofractionate with the natriuretic activity. The peptide responsible for both blood pressure lowering properties was purified and sequenced from multiple species by several laborat