Circulating natriuretic peptides such as atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) counterbalance the effects of hypertension and inhibit cardiac hypertrophy by activating cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG). Natriuretic peptide binding to type I receptors (NPRA and NPRB) activates their intrinsic guanylyl cyclase activity, resulting in a rapid increase in cytosolic cGMP that subsequently activates PKG. Phosphorylation of the receptor by an unknown serine/threonine kinase is required before ligand binding can activate the cyclase. While searching for downstream PKG partners using a yeast two-hybrid screen of a human heart cDNA library, we unexpectedly found an upstream association with NPRA. PKG is a serine/threonine kinase capable of phosphorylating NPRA in vitro; however, regulation of NPRA by PKG has not been previously reported. Here we show that PKG is recruited to the plasma membrane following ANP treatment, an effect that can be blocked by pharmacological inhibition of PKG activation. Furthermore, PKG participates in a ligand-dependent gainof-function loop that significantly increases the intrinsic cyclase activity of the receptor. PKG translocation is ANP-dependent but not nitric oxide-dependent. Our results suggest that anchoring of PKG to NPRA is a key event after ligand binding that determines distal effects. As such, the NPRA-PKG association may represent a novel mechanism for compartmentation of cGMP-mediated signaling and regulation of receptor sensitivity.The natriuretic peptides (NPs) 1 are produced by the heart, the vasculature, and the kidney and are an ancient family of polypeptide hormones that regulate mammalian blood volume and blood pressure. More recently, the ability of NPs to modulate cell proliferation (1) and cardiac hypertrophy (2) has been demonstrated. Physiologically important NP actions include natriuresis (3), vasodilation (4), and ubiquitous inhibitory actions such as inhibition of smooth muscle proliferation (1, 5), cardiac fibroblast proliferation (6), cardiomyocyte hypertrophy (2, 7-9), sympathetic tone (10), renin-angiotensin-aldosterone activation (11), and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis signaling (12)(13)(14). In disease states such as heart failure, NP actions may be limited by resistance to hormone effects (15)(16)(17) that are at least in part because of insensitivity of the receptor itself (18).Natriuretic peptide binding to type I receptors (NPRA and NPRB) on target cells activates their intrinsic guanylyl cyclase activity, resulting in a rapid increase in cGMP. Diffusible cGMP acts as a second messenger primarily by stimulating PKG (19). PKG is the major mediator of cGMP-induced smooth muscle relaxation (20). Downstream NP effects that have been directly tied to activated PKG include modulation of the L-type calcium channel (21, 22) and cross-talk with heterologous receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (23, 24). Furthermore, there is recent evidence that the membrane-bound guanylyl cyclase, NPRA, but not soluble cyclases that are activated by nitric oxide, ha...