Functional Morphology of the Endocrine Heart, 1989

In 1956, Bruno Kisch (90) discovered a special form of myocyte in the guinea pig heart atrium which contained peculiar, dense inclusions, but it was not before the early 1980s that cardiac hormones were isolated and characterized independently and almost simultaneously by several working groups. In 1964 Jamieson and Palade (84) were the first to postulate the secretory nature of the atrial myocytes and their specific granules. In 1976, Marie et al. (103) revealed the relation of the granular index of these atrial cells with the water- electrolyte balance of the body fluid. The biological effects of purified atrial extracts, i. e. , the diuretic and vasorelaxant effects, were detected in the early 1980s, (26,35,38,56). Now, a series of polypeptides, of the same family, and all derived from a homologous precursor in the different species are know to exert the diuretic and vasorelaxant effects. This development of the discovery of a peptide hormone is unparalleled in the sense that it was mostly morphologists who contributed to the final characterization of these cardiac hormones. Thus, it was a great honor for us to be given the opportunity on the occasion of the 8th European Anatomical Congress to organize a special satellite symposium on the rapidly growing field of research in cardiac endocrinology. The symposium "Functional Endocrinology of the Endocrine Heart" was planned as an interdisciplinary meeting to enable anatomists to follow recent advances in cardiac endocrinology.

Embryology of the endocrine heart.- Morphological review: immunohistochemistry and ultrastructure of the endocrine heart.- Evidence for the existence of cardiac hormones in the conductive system of the mammalian heart.- Catecholamine-containing granules in cardiac chromaffin cells as compared with atrial granules.- Seasonal changes of the endocrine heart.- Storage and secretion of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) by cultured atrial and ventricular cells from the neonatal rat.- Combined quantitative morphological and biochemical study on atrial granules (AG).- Immunohistochemical evidence for a neurosecretory and neurotransmitter function of CDD/ANP-immunoreactive neurons in molluscs.- Dual distribution of cardiac hormones (CDD/ANP) in heart and brain of vertebrates.- Steroid hormones and the endocrine heart.- Biochemistry of cardiac hormones.- The physiological importance of Atrial Natriuretic Peptide.- Pharmacology of the cardiac endocrine system.- Sites of action of ANF as a circulating hormone.- Pathomorphology of the endocrine heart.- Endocrine heart in experimental cardiomyopathy.- Atrial natriuretic peptide in man.- The behaviour of CDD (cardiodilatin) during graded exerciseon a bicycle ergometre.- Plasma concentrations of atrial natriuretic peptide ?-h- ANP1–28) during exercise and relationship to hemodynamic parameters in man.- Plasma atrial natriuretic factor responses to opiates.- Atrial natriuretic peptide in term newborn infants.- Effect of ANP bolus injection on endocrine and renal regulation in patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites.- Atrial natriuretic peptide (?-h-ANP) in 157 children with congenital heart diseases.- Receptor binding of cardiac hormones to dog kidney with congestive heart failure.- Characterization of the ANF system in patientswith cirrhosis of the liver.- The effect of human atrial natriuretic peptide on renal and cardiovascular responses to insulin-induced hypoglycemia in healthy man.