Natriuretic Peptide Receptor-C Agonist Attenuates the Expression of Cell Cycle Proteins and Proliferation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells from Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats: Role of Gi Proteins and MAPkinase/PI3kinase Signaling

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) exhibit hyperproliferation and overexpression of cell cycle proteins. We earlier showed that small peptide fragments of cytoplasmic domain of natriuretic receptor-C (NPR-C) attenuate vasoactive peptide-induced hyperproliferation of VSMC. The present study investigated if C-ANP4-23, a specific agonist of NPR-C, could attanuate the hyperproliferation of VSMC from SHR by...