B-Type Natriuretic Peptide as a Marker of Allograft Rejection After Heart Transplantation

Relationship Between Natriuretic Peptides and Inflammation: Proteomic Evidence Obtained During Acute Cellular Cardiac Allograft Rejection in Humans

“…Thus, circulating BNP, but not ANF, increased during acute rejection episodes. [1][2][3][4][5] In investigating this finding we found that the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1␤ (IL-1␤) and tumor necrosis factor-␣ (TNF-␣) had a selective, highly significant upregulating effect on gene expression and promoter activity and on secretion of BNP in cultures of cardiocytes derived from neonatal rat hearts. No other pro-inflammatory cytokine tested had a similar effect.…”

B-type Natriuretic Peptide Is a Sensitive Screening Test for Acute Rejection in Pediatric Heart Transplant Patients

“…[21][22][23][24][25][26][27] There are only limited data on the role of BNP in pediatric heart transplant patients. 28 -30 Therefore, in this syudy we sought to: (1) determine the ranges of BNP levels post-transplantation; and (2) test the hypothesis that elevated BNP levels are a sensitive screening test for detecting AR in a large cohort of pediatric heart transplant patients.…”

Prognostic Relationship Between Two Serial Determinations of B-type Natriuretic Peptide and Medium–Long-term Events in Heart Transplantation

“…5,6 Despite the biologic variability of BNP with regard to parameters such as age, gender or amount of body fat, its plasma levels are increased in patients with ischemic heart disease, [7][8][9][10] in patients with renal failure on hemodialysis, 11,12 and in patients subjected to heart surgery or heart transplantation. 13,14 Because the value of BNP reflects wall stress and ventricular pressures, levels of this hormone have been studied in heart transplantation as a marker of graft function, especially its usefulness as a biomarker for the detection of acute rejection, [15][16][17][18] ventricular dysfunction and graft vascular disease. 19 -23 Furthermore, although there are few studies to date, the elevation of its levels (BNP or N-terminal proBNP) also appears to have prognostic value with regard to the development of late graft dysfunction or death.…”