Although cardiac distribution of specific receptors for atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was mainly observed in the ventricular endocardium, the modulation of ANP receptors in relation to cardiac development is not defined. The present study was undertaken to investigate ANP receptor modulation in rat during development. In the developmental stages examined (fetus, after postnatal 3-days, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 8-week-old Sprague Dawley rats) specific ANP binding sites were localized in the right and left ventricular endo-cardia by quantitative in vitro receptor autoradiography using (equation omitted)-rat ANP as labeled ligand. The specific bindings to endocardium were much higher in the right than the left ventricle. The binding affinities of ANP were much higher in the right than the left ventricular endocardium. The difference of these binding affinities among various developmental stages was not observed in the right ventricle, whereas the binding affinity in left ventricle was gradually increased with aging and reached the peak value at 8 weeks. No significant difference in maximal binding capacities of endocardial bindings was observed in the right and left ventricular endocardia during developmental stages. Also, cGMP production via activation of particulate guanylyl cyclase-coupled receptor subtypes in the ventricular membranes was gradually decreased with close relationship to aging. Therefore, the present study show that the endocardial ANP receptor is modulated with close relationship to cardiac development in the left ventricle rather than the right ventricle, and may be involved in regulating myocardial contractility in left heart.