<Table> <Tr> <Td_colspan="4"> View / Edit Human </Td> <Td_colspan="0"> </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td_colspan="4"> View / Edit Human </Td> <Td_colspan="0"> </Td> </Tr> <P> Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a hormone secreted by cardiomyocytes in the ventricles in response to stretching caused by increased ventricular blood volume . BNP is named as such because it was originally identified in extracts of porcine brain . </P> <P> The 32 - amino acid polypeptide BNP is secreted attached to a 76--amino acid N - terminal fragment in the prohormone called NT - proBNP (BNPT), which is biologically inactive . Once released, BNP binds to and activates the atrial natriuretic factor receptor NPRA, and to a lesser extent NPRB, in a fashion similar to atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) but with 10-fold lower affinity . The biological half - life of BNP, however, is twice as long as that of ANP, and that of NT - proBNP is even longer, making these peptides better targets than ANP for diagnostic blood testing . </P>

Bnp is secreted from the ventricular myocardium in response to