Endogenous Digitalis-Like Factors: Past Progress and Future Prospects

In the late 1970s and early 1980s several lines of investigation in the fields of body fluid homeostasis regulation and hypertension converged to support the existence of a circulating factor with both natriuretic and blood pressure elevating activities. The apparent mechanism of action of this putative hormone was inhibition of the Na pump (Na,K-ATPase), a mechanism held in common with the cardiac glycoside class of drugs. This similarity led to the use of the terms endogenous “ouabain-like” or “digitalis-like” when reference to this putative hormone was made.