Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) antagonizes the release and action of arginine vasopressin (AVP) both in vivo and in vitro. We have reported that ANP increases the urinary and metabolic clearances of AVP in normal subjects (A. M. Moses et al. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 70: 222-229, 1990). To clarify this effect, we perfused isolated rat kidneys in vitro and measured the clearances of AVP for 30 min after the addition of rat ANP [rANP-(1-28), 10(-7) M]. In the perfused kidney, rANP increased the urinary clearance of AVP (UCAVP) from 321 +/- 19 to 417 +/- 20 microliters/min (P less than 0.01) and increased the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) from 558 +/- 28 to 696 +/- 28 microliters/min (P less than 0.01). Fractional excretion of AVP was unchanged. Rates of AVP reabsorption were directly related to filtered AVP, and this relationship was not altered by ANP. ANP did not affect the total organ clearance or the renal metabolic clearance of AVP. The increase in GFR was associated with increases in renal vascular resistance (P less than 0.05), filtration fraction (P less than 0.01), and sodium excretion (P less than 0.001). UCAVP also increased when GFR was raised without ANP by perfusing at higher pressures. The rat ANP clearance receptor agonist [cANP- (4-23), 10(-7) M] did not change GFR or UCAVP. ANP increases UCAVP in the isolated perfused rat kidney. This appears to be a hemodynamic effect of ANP, acting through its biological receptor and not the clearance receptor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)