Adrenal steroidogenic actions of cyclic nucleotide derivatives in the rat.

Fifteen 3',5'-cyclic nucleotides and related compounds were studied for ability to mimic the steroidogenic action of ACTH in rats in which secretion of ACTH and corticosterone were suppressed by treatment with betamethasone, or by hypophysectomy. Subcutaneous administration of 8-chloro-cAMP, at doses of 40 mg/kg or greater, elicited the secretion of corticosterone to normal plasma levels in both betamethasone-treated and hypophysectomized animals. Cyclic AMP, dbcAMP, 8-methylthio-cAMP, 8-hydroxy-cAMP and the 6-chloro-8-aminopurine cyclic ribotide analog of cAMP also displayed steroidogenic activity in the betamethasone-treated rat; cGMP, 8-bromo-cGMP and 8-benzylthio-cGMP were inactive. Each of the steroidogenic derivatives of cAMP also displayed ability to activate steroidogenesis in isolated rat adrenal cells. These experiments demonstrate that various derivatives of cAMP mimic the adrenal steroidogenic action of ACTH, in vivo. Structure-activity comparisons support a steroidogenic mechanism involving direct activation by the nucleotides of cAMP-dependent protein kinase of the adrenal cortex.

Modulators of cyclic AMP systems.

On the basis of the data reported here, one may conclude that although many agents that act in the central nervous system are modulators of the action of cyclic AMP, it is difficult to establish a direct connection between the pharmacologic activity and the levels of cyclic AMP in the brain. This lack of interrelation applies to the benzodiazepines as well as to the pyrazolopyridines. The data for members of the latter group are somewhat frustrating in this regard, since an excellent correlation has been shown to exist between the potency of inhibition of PDE and activity in the antianxiety test. In measurements of steroidogenesis in the isolated adrenal cell, the correlation between activity in vito and the conflict assay is even better. The data presented here and reported elsewhere (Shimizu et al., 1974; Kelly et al., 1974; Mayer and King, 1974; King and Mayer, 1974) provide evidence that agents that act as inhibitors of PDE in cell-free systems exert their influence on cyclic AMP in tissue slices of the brain of guinea pigs by mechanisms that seem not to be related to an effect on PDE. Papaverine, and possibly chlordiazepoxide, may act by releasing agonists that, in turn, stimulate the accumulation of cyclic AMP. This activity is blocked bo other inhibitors of PDE, such as theophyline. Results obtained by the use of platelets are refreshingly clear. Inhibition of aggregation has been shown to occur when the level of cyclic AMP is raised, and a suggestive exists that the most potent inhibitors of platelet PDE are the best potentiators of the action of PGE1 in blocking aggregation. The study utilizing drugs collected from a large number of therapeutic classes makes clear that it is difficult to attribute the mechanism of action for any of the classes studied to modulation of cyclic AMP. An unexpected finding of this study, however, was the fact that pharmacologic agents include an unusually large number of inhibitors of PDE as compared with agents chosen at random. This finding provides a powerful tool for the biochemical pharmacologist who is examining large numbers of compounds in the search for potential drugs.