Molecular Heterogeneity Has a Major Impact on the Measurement of Circulating N-Terminal Fragments of A- and B-Type Natriuretic Peptides

Abstract

Molecular heterogeneity of the circulating forms causes a serious risk of preanalytical errors in assays for NT-proBNP and, to a lesser extent, NT-proANP. The development of a sandwich assay for NT-proBNP would be especially challenging. The most robust and reliable assays use antibodies directed at the central portions of NT-proANP or NT-proBNP.