Possible association between body temperature and B-type natriuretic peptide in patients with cardiovascular diseases

Abstract Background In addition to various biological effects of natriuretic peptides (NP) on cardiovascular systems, we recently reported that NP raises intracellular temperature in cultured adipocytes. We herein examined the possible thermogenic action of NP in consideration of hemodynamic parameters and inflammatory reaction by proposing structural equation models. Methods and Results The study population consisted of 1985 consecutive patients who underwent cardiac catheterization. Covariance structure analyses were performed to clarify the direct contribution of plasma B-type NP (BNP) to body temperature (BT) by excluding other confounding factors. A hierarchical path model showed increase in BNP, increase in CRP and reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were mutually associated. As expected, CRP was positively correlated with BT. Importantly, despite negative correlation between BNP and LVEF, reduction in LVEF was associated with BT decrease, whereas elevation in BNP level was associated with BT increase independently of CRP level (P=0.007). Conclusions Patients with LV dysfunction tend to manifest a decrease in BT, while BNP elevation is associated with an increase in BT independently of inflammatory response. These findings suggest the adaptive heat-retaining property of NP (and/or NP-associated factors) when BT falls due to unfavorable hemodynamic conditions in a state of impaired cardiac function.