What is B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)?

A ventricular natriuretic peptide — and a routine heart-failure marker. Structurally it is Natriuretic peptide (32 aa).

How strong is the evidence for BNP?

PeptideHormone grades BNP at the "Established" evidence tier — its mechanism and core effects are settled across the peer-reviewed literature. It is catalogued as an endogenous signal the body produces itself, and the tier is an editorial judgment about the public literature that can change as the science does.

What is the half-life of BNP?

The reported circulating half-life of BNP is ~20 min.

B-type natriuretic peptideBNP

A ventricular natriuretic peptide — and a routine heart-failure marker.

EndogenousEstablished

A signal so faithful to cardiac strain that medicine measures it instead of asking the heart directly.

Identity

Class: Natriuretic peptide (32 aa)
Source: Ventricular cardiomyocytes
Receptor: Natriuretic peptide receptor A (NPR-A)

Key properties

Evidence floorClinicalREF1CLIN1

Molecular weight

~3,464 Da

REF

Half-life (native)

~20 min

CLIN

Model dosing

Approximate values for the native hormone; engineered analogs are often deliberately larger and far longer-acting. Each figure carries its own provenance tier, and the floor is the weakest of them - the Standard.

Mechanism

BNP is released from the ventricles under pressure or volume load and, like ANP, raises cGMP via NPR-A to promote natriuresis and vasodilation. Because its level rises with ventricular wall stress, BNP (and its NT-proBNP fragment) is widely measured to assess heart failure.

Reference notes

BNP and NT-proBNP are standard blood biomarkers of heart failure.
It is ventricular in origin, in contrast to ANP's atrial source.
It shares the NPR-A receptor and cGMP mechanism with ANP.

Common questions

What is B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)?: A ventricular natriuretic peptide — and a routine heart-failure marker. Structurally it is Natriuretic peptide (32 aa).
How does BNP work?: BNP is released from the ventricles under pressure or volume load and, like ANP, raises cGMP via NPR-A to promote natriuresis and vasodilation. Because its level rises with ventricular wall stress, BNP (and its NT-proBNP fragment) is widely measured to assess heart failure.
How strong is the evidence for BNP?: PeptideHormone grades BNP at the "Established" evidence tier — its mechanism and core effects are settled across the peer-reviewed literature. It is catalogued as an endogenous signal the body produces itself, and the tier is an editorial judgment about the public literature that can change as the science does.
What is the half-life of BNP?: The reported circulating half-life of BNP is ~20 min.

Selected literature

Curated peer-reviewed reviews, sourced from PubMed. Selected for relevance, not exhaustive — open any entry on PubMed for the full record and its primary citations.

1.NT-ProBNP: the mechanism behind the marker · Journal of cardiac failure, 2005 · PMID 15948107
2.Cardiac natriuretic peptides · Nature reviews. Cardiology, 2020 · PMID 32444692

External references

BNP in the public knowledge graph — the same entity resolved across the authoritative chemistry and protein databases.