Structure and function of the <italic>Nppa</italic>-<italic>Nppb</italic> cluster locus during heart development and disease.

Atrial natriuretic factor and brain natriuretic peptide are two important biomarkers in clinical cardiology. These two natriuretic peptide hormones are encoded by the paralogous genes <italic>Nppa</italic> and <italic>Nppb</italic>, which are evolutionary conserved. Both genes are predominantly expressed by the heart muscle during the embryonic and fetal stages, and in particular <italic>Nppa</italic> expression is strongly reduced in the ventricles after birth. Upon cardiac stress, <italic>Nppa</italic> and <italic>Nppb</italic> are strongly upregulated in the ventricular myocardium. Much is known about the molecular and physiological ques inducing <italic>Nppa</italic> and <italic>Nppb</italic> expression; however, the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of the <italic>Nppa</italic>-<italic>Nppb</italic> cluster in vivo has proven to be quite complex and is not well understood. In this review, we will provide recent insights into the dynamic and complex regulation of <italic>Nppa</italic> and <italic>Nppb</italic> during heart development and hypertrophy, and the association of this gene cluster with the cardiomyocyte-intrinsic program of heart regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]