8-Aminoguanine and Its Actions on Renal Excretory Function.

BACKGROUND: The endogenous purine 8-aminoguanine induces diuresis/natriuresis/glucosuria by inhibiting PNPase (purine nucleoside phosphorylase); however, mechanistic details are unknown. METHODS: Here, we further explored in rats 8-aminoguanine's effects on renal excretory function by combining studies using intravenous 8-aminoguanine, intrarenal artery infusions of PNPase substrates (inosine and guanosine), renal microdialysis, mass spectrometry, selective adenosine receptor ligands, adenosine receptor knockout rats, laser doppler blood flow analysis, cultured renal microvascular smooth muscle cells, HEK293 cells expressing A2B receptors and homogeneous time resolved fluorescence assay for adenylyl cyclase activity. RESULTS: Intravenous 8-aminoguanine caused diuresis/natriuresis/glucosuria and increased renal microdialysate levels of inosine and guanosine. Intrarenal inosine, but not guanosine, exerted diuretic/natriuretic/glucosuric effects. In 8-aminoguanine-pretreated rats, intrarenal inosine did not induce additional diuresis/natriuresis/glucosuria. 8-Aminoguanine did not induce diuresis/natriuresis/glucosuria in A2B-receptor knockout rats, yet did so in A1- and A2A-receptor knockout rats. Inosine's effects on renal excretory function were abolished in A2B knockout rats. Intrarenal BAY 60-6583 (A2B agonist) induced diuresis/natriuresis/glucosuria and increased medullary blood flow. 8-Aminoguanine increased medullary blood flow, a response blocked by pharmacological inhibition of A2B, but not A2A, receptors. In HEK293 cells expressing A2B receptors, inosine activated adenylyl cyclase, and this was abolished by MRS 1754 (A2B antagonist). In renal microvascular smooth muscle cells, 8-aminoguanine and forodesine (PNPase inhibitor) increased inosine and 3',5'-cAMP; however, in cells from A2B knockout rats, 8-aminoguanine and forodesine did not augment 3',5'-cAMP yet increased inosine. CONCLUSIONS: 8-Aminoguanine induces diuresis/natriuresis/glucosuria by increasing renal interstitial levels of inosine which, via A2B receptor activation, increases renal excretory function, perhaps in part by increasing medullary blood flow.

Critical periods for chlorpyrifos-induced developmental neurotoxicity: alterations in adenylyl cyclase signaling in adult rat brain regions after gestational or neonatal exposure.

Developmental exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF) alters the function of a wide variety of neural systems. In the present study we evaluated the effects in adulthood of CPF exposure of rats during different developmental windows, using the adenylyl cyclase (AC) signaling cascade, which mediates the cellular responses to numerous neurotransmitters. Animals were exposed on gestational days (GD) 9-12 or 17-20 or on postnatal days (PN) 1-4 or 11-14 and assessed at PN60. In addition to basal AC activity, we evaluated the responses to direct AC stimulants (forskolin, Mn2+) and to isoproterenol, which activates signaling through ss-adrenoceptors coupled to stimulatory G-proteins. CPF exposure in any of the four periods elicited significant changes in AC signaling in a wide variety of brain regions in adulthood. In general, GD9-12 was the least sensitive stage, requiring doses above the threshold for impaired maternal weight gain, whereas effects were obtained at subtoxic doses for all other regimens. Most of the effects were heterologous, involving signaling elements downstream from the receptors, and thus shared by multiple stimulants; superimposed on this basic pattern, there were also selective alterations in receptor-mediated responses, in G-protein function, and in AC expression and subtypes. Exposures conducted at GD17-20 and later all produced sex-selective alterations. These results suggest that developmental exposure to CPF elicits long-lasting alterations in cell-signaling cascades that are shared by multiple neurotransmitter and hormonal inputs; the resultant abnormalities of synaptic communication are thus likely to occur in widespread neural circuits and their corresponding behaviors.

Developmental effects of chlorpyrifos extend beyond neurotoxicity: critical periods for immediate and delayed-onset effects on cardiac and hepatic cell signaling.

The fetal and neonatal neurotoxicity of chlorpyrifos (CPF) and related insecticides is a major concern. Developmental effects of CPF involve mechanisms over and above cholinesterase inhibition, notably events in cell signaling that are shared by nonneural targets. In the present study, we evaluated the immediate and long-term effects of CPF exposure of rats during different developmental windows [gestational days (GD) 9-12 or 17-20, postnatal days (PN) 1-4 or 11-14] on the adenylyl cyclase (AC) signaling cascade in the heart and liver. In addition to basal AC activity, we assessed the responses to direct AC stimulants (forskolin, Mn2+); to isoproterenol and glucagon, which activate signaling through specific membrane receptors; and to sodium fluoride, which activates the G-proteins that couple the receptors to AC. Few immediate effects on AC were apparent when CPF doses remained below the threshold for systemic toxicity. Nevertheless, CPF exposures on GD9-12, GD17-20, or PN1-4 elicited sex-selective effects that emerged by adulthood (PN60), whereas later exposure (PN11-14) elicited smaller, nonsignificant effects, indicative of closure of the window of vulnerability. Most of the effects were heterologous, involving signaling elements downstream from the receptors, and thus were shared by multiple inputs; superimposed on this basic pattern, there were also selective alterations in receptor-mediated responses. These results suggest that the developmental toxicity of CPF extends beyond the nervous system, to include cell signaling cascades that are vital to cardiac and hepatic homeostasis. Future work needs to address the potential implications of these effects for cardiovascular and metabolic disorders that may emerge long after the end of CPF exposure.

Stimulatory effects of adenosine on prolactin secretion in the pituitary gland of the rat.

We investigated the effects of adenosine on prolactin (PRL) secretion from rat anterior pituitaries incubated in vitro. The administration of 5-N-methylcarboxamidoadenosine (MECA), an analog agonist that preferentially activates A2 receptors, induced a dose-dependent (1 nM to 1 microM) increase in the levels of PRL released, an effect abolished by 1,3-dipropyl-7-methylxanthine, an antagonist of A2 adenosine receptors. In addition, the basal levels of PRL secretion were decreased by the blockade of cyclooxygenase or lipoxygenase pathways, with indomethacin and nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), respectively. The stimulatory effects of MECA on PRL secretion persisted even after the addition of indomethacin, but not of NDGA, to the medium. MECA was unable to stimulate PRL secretion in the presence of dopamine, the strongest inhibitor of PRL release that works by inducing a decrease in adenylyl cyclase activity. Furthermore, the addition of adenosine (10 nM) mimicked the effects of MECA on PRL secretion, an effect that persisted regardless of the presence of LiCl (5 mM). The basal secretion of PRL was significatively reduced by LiCl, and restored by the concomitant addition of both LiCl and myo-inositol. These results indicate that PRL secretion is under a multifactorial regulatory mechanism, with the participation of different enzymes, including adenylyl cyclase, inositol-1-phosphatase, cyclooxygenase, and lipoxygenase. However, the increase in PRL secretion observed in the lactotroph in response to A2 adenosine receptor activation probably was mediated by mechanisms involving regulation of adenylyl cyclase, independent of membrane phosphoinositide synthesis or cyclooxygenase activity and partially dependent on lipoxygenase arachidonic acid-derived substances.

Hydrosmotic effect of angiotensin II in the toad skin: role of cyclic AMP.

The mechanism of action of the hydrosmotic response of the isolated skin of the toad Bufo arenarum Hensel to angiotensin II was studied by means of an indirect pharmacological approach. Angiotensin II (2.10(-10) M), vasopressin (2.10(-13) M) and theophylline (10(-4) and 10(-3) M) in subliminal doses produced a significant increase on water permeability when added in different paired combinations. Angiotensin II (2.10(-7) M) and vasopressin (2.10(-8) M) in doses producing significant effects on water permeability increased the response to submaximal doses of epinephrine (10(-6) M) but not to higher doses (10(-5) M). Acid pH (6.4) and prostaglandin E1 (2.10(-7) M) reduced significantly the hydrosmotic response to angiotensin II, but in contrast with the toad bladder, the effect was not completely abolished. Present results support the view that the hydrosmotic effect of angiotensin II in toad skin is mediated by the adenylate cyclase - cyclic AMP system.