ABSTRACT
Background: Natriuretic peptides have a vast array of different actions at numerous sites throughout the human body. There have been rapid advances in understanding their mechanism of action in recent years and this review aimed to collate all available information on this field in order to present the current evidence-base. Method: A two-step process utilising a Medline/PubMed systematic search was conducted. The initial search was undertaken using elementary phrases. The search produced over 4000 published papers on the topic of the mechanisms of action of natriuretic peptides. The resultant abstracts were analysed and appropriate papers were selected. The secondary search was performed by (1) using the reference lists of the chosen articles and (2) by using PubMed weblink for related articles. The studies were selected if they were in English language published in the past 30 years (1983-2013) and included the appropriate topics. All of the reports regarding the intracellular and pharmacological mechanisms of action of natriuretic peptides were selected. Conclusions: This review has collected all information on the recent advances in our understanding of the intracellular pathways that allow these peptides to bring about natriuresis, vasodilatation and their many other effects. Although offering significant pharmacological potential, this field remains poorly understood and there is a need for more research using newer research techniques.