An intestinal natriuretic factor.

In 1975, reports were published that suggested that the gastrointestinal tract can "taste" the intake of sodium and in some unknown way influence the kidneys to increase sodium excretion. To test whether the intestine contained a natriuretic factor, intestinal tissue from cats was homogenized and fractionated by ultrafiltration to a molecular range of approximately 500-10,000 Da and separated by gel chromatography (Sephadex G25). The fractions were pooled into four large fractions that were assayed for "natriuretic" activity on anesthetized rats. The fraction containing the material with an apparent molecular mass of 500-1,000 Da augmented renal excretion of sodium and water, whereas the other pooled fractions did not exhibit any consistent natriuretic effect. The "natriuretic" fractions from gel filtration were further purified by ion exchange chromatography using a cation exchanger. The natriuretic activity was eluted from the ion exchange chromatography column at a NaCl concentration of 250 mM. Preliminary experiments on Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) suggest that the intestinal influence on renal sodium excretion is more pronounced in SHR than in WKY rats.