The migration and proliferation of endothelial cells play a pivotal role in various vascular diseases. We have previously reported that atrial natriuretic polypeptide (ANP) exerts an antigrowth effect on vascular smooth muscle cells via the guanylate cyclase-coupled mechanism. Because the endothelial cells are known to possess a large number of guanylate cyclase-coupled ANP receptors, we examined the action of ANP on the growth of endothelial cells. ANP (10(-7) and 10(-6) M) significantly attenuated serum-stimulated DNA synthesis of cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells with concomitant reduction of the increase in cell number. A ring-deleted analogue of ANP exerted less prominent antiproliferative action, and 8-bromo cyclic GMP (cGMP) mimicked the action of ANP, suggesting the involvement of cGMP cascade in the endothelial growth. Moreover, the proliferative action of exogenously administered basic fibroblast growth factor on endothelial cells was significantly attenuated by the simultaneously administered 8-bromo cGMP. Taken together, the present results demonstrate a potential novel role of ANP in the regulation of endothelial cell growth, which is implicated in angiogenesis or reendothelialization.