Background
C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), which exerts its biological actions by binding a subtype of receptor, guanylyl cyclase-B (GC-B), is implicated in the endochondral bone growth and the gene disruption of CNP or GC-B results in marked dwarfism due to the defect of the endochondral bone formation in both animals and humans. Meanwhile, the physiological role of the CNP/GC-B system in the growth plate cartilage is still unclear, because the CNP/GC-B system is widely distributed not only in the growth plate of the bone but also in the central and peripheral nervous system, gonad, vascular endothelial cells, macrophages and cardiac fibroblasts.