Tissue culture media from incubations of fragments of rat brain were collected and partially purified. These supernatants were effective in inhibiting the Na+-K+ pump as indicated by a 77% reduction of ouabain-sensitive 86Rb+ uptake into human erythrocytes. Release of the Na+-K+-ATPase inhibitor depended on the amount of tissue, the temperature, and the length of incubation. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) injected intravenously, or included (10(-8) M) in the in vitro incubation of brain tissue, decreased the release of the Na+-K+-ATPase inhibitor by 74 and 42%, respectively. Control experiments using the neuropeptide arginine vasopressin showed no effect on release of the inhibitor. These studies indicate that ANP is capable of regulating the release from brain of a Na+-K+-ATPase inhibitor with similar chromatographic characteristics to the one previously obtained from extraction of bovine hypothalamus and raise the possibility that the two factors are interrelated in the regulation of fluid and electrolyte balance.
