Dag K.J.E. Von Lubitz

Adenosine A3 receptor stimulation and cerebral ischemia.

Chronic treatment with the selective adenosine A3 receptor agonist N6-(3-iodobenzyl)adenosine-5-N-methylcarboxamide (IB-MECA) administered prior to either 10 or 20 min forebrain ischemia in gerbils resulted in improved postischemic cerebral blood circulation, survival, and neuronal preservation. Opposite effects, i.e., impaired postischemic blood flow, enhanced mortality, and extensive neuronal destruction in the hippocampus were seen when IB-MECA was given acutely. Neither adenosine A1 nor A2 receptors are involved in these actions. The data indicate that stimulation of adenosine A3 receptors may play an important role in the development of ischemic damage, and that adenosine A3 receptors may offer a new target for therapeutic interventions.

Cerebral ischemia in gerbils: effects of acute and chronic treatment with adenosine A2A receptor agonist and antagonist

Despite significant progress in understanding of the potential of adenosine A1 receptor-based therapies in treatment of cerebral ischemia and stroke, very little is known about the effect of selective stimulation of adenosine A2A receptors on the outcome of a cerebrovascular arrest. In view of a major role played by adenosine A2 receptors in the regulation of cerebral blood flow, we have investigated the effect of both acute and chronic administration of the selective adenosine receptor agonist 2-[(2-aminoethylamino)-carbonylethylphenylethylamino]-5-N- ethylcarboxoamidoadenosine (APEC) and antagonist 8-(3-chlorostyryl)caffeine (CSC) on the outcome of 10 min ischemia in gerbils. Acute treatment with APEC improved recovery of postischemic blood flow and survival without affecting neuronal preservation in the hippocampus. Acute treatment with CSC had no effect on the cerebral blood flow but resulted in a very significant protection of hippocampal neurons. Significant improvement of survival was present during the initial 10 days postischemia. Due to subsequent deaths of animals treated acutely with CSC, the end-point mortality (14 days postischemia) in this group did not differ statistically from that seen in the controls. It is, however, possible that the late mortality in the acute CSC group was caused by the systemic effects of brain ischemia that are not subject to the treatment with this drug. Chronic treatment with APEC resulted in a statistically significant improvement in all studied measures. Although chronic treatment with CSC improved postischemic blood flow, its effect on neuronal preservation was minimal and statistically insignificant. Mortality remained unaffected. The results indicate that the acute treatment with adenosine A2A receptor antagonists may have a limited value in treatment of global ischemia. However, since administered CSC has no effect on the reestablishment of postischemic blood flow, treatment of stroke with adenosine A2A receptor antagonists may not be advisable. Additional studies are necessary to elucidate whether chronically administered drugs acting at adenosine A2 receptors may be useful in treatment of stroke and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Chronic administration of selective adenosine A1 receptor agonist or antagonist in cerebral ischemia

The effect of chronic administration of selective adenosine A1 receptor agonists and antagonists on the outcome of cerebral ischemia is entirely unknown. Therefore, we have investigated the impact of such regimens on the hippocampal adenosine A1 receptor density, and on the recovery from 10 min forebrain ischemia in gerbils. While acutely administered N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) given at 0.02 mg/kg resulted only in a significant reduction of mortality, at 1 mg/kg it improved both survival and neuronal preservation in the hippocampal CA1 region. Acute treatment with 1,3-dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine (CPX) significantly worsened the outcome and enhanced neuronal destruction. The effects of chronic administration of these drugs (15 days followed by 1 drug-free day) were opposite. Thus, although chronic CPA at 0.02 mg/kg did not have any effect at all, at 1 mg/kg both survival and neuronal preservation were significantly poorer than in controls, while chronic CPX resulted in a significant improvement of both measures. These results were not accompanied by adenosine A1 receptor up- or downregulation. Our study indicates that highly selective adenosine analogues may have therapeutic potential in treatment of cerebral ischemia/stroke and possibly other neurodegenerative disorders as well.

Internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in gerbil hippocampus following forebrain ischemia.

Internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, the characteristics feature of programmed cell death, was demonstrated in gerbil hippocampus following 10 min of forebrain ischemia. Quantitative analysis revealed the presence of DNA fragments as early as 12 h after ischemia, reaching a maximum at 48 h. Measurable DNA fragmentation was still present in 3/3 subjects 96 h after the ischemic insult. In situ staining of hippocampus demonstrated pronounced DNA fragmentation that was localized in the CA1 region. The localization of fragmented DNA to the CA1 is consistent with the vulnerability of this layer to ischemic insult, and indicates that DNA fragmentation may be associated with the delayed loss of CA1 neurons in this model of forebrain ischemia.

Modulation of Apoptosis by Adenosine in the Central Nervous System: a Possible Role for the A3 Receptor

A great body of evidence has been accumulating in the last 20 years supporting a role for adenosine as a neurotransmitter and neuromodulator in the central nervous system.1 In brain, adenosine acts as a potent depressant of excitatory neurotransmission and is colocalized (either as adenosine per se or as its precursor molecule, adenosine triphosphate (ATP)) with “classic” excitatory transmitters in many presynaptic terminals, whence it is released during physiological neurotransmission. It is now well established that the multiple effects of this nucleoside are mediated by activation of specific cell surface receptors, which, based on biochemical, pharmacological and molecular cloning studies, have been classified into four subtypes, denoted as A1, A2A, A2B and A3.2 All the adenosine receptors are members of the guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G protein)-coupled receptor family and possess seven transmembrane helical regions.3 The functional roles of some of the adenosine receptor subtypes (e.g., the A1 and A2A receptors) are relatively well established (see below), whereas the role(s) of the A2B and the recently cloned A3 receptors are still largely unknown.

The effects of adenosine A3 receptor stimulation on seizures in mice.

We have previously shown that acute preischemic adenosine A3 receptor stimulation results in an increased postischemic damage, while chronic stimulation of this receptor diminishes it. Since several pathophysiological phenomena are common for both ischemia and seizures, we have explored the effect of acute and chronic administration of the adenosine A3 receptor selective agonist IB-MECA (N6-(3-iodobenzyl) adenosine-5-N-methylcarboxamide) prior to seizures induced by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), pentamethylenetetrazole, or electric shock. At 100 micrograms/kg, acutely injected IB-MECA was protective in chemically but not electrically induced seizures. In chronic administration of IB-MECA, significant protection against chemically induced seizures was obtained in all studied measures, i.e., seizure latency, neurological impairment, and survival. Although threshold voltage was unchanged in electrically induced seizures, a chronic regimen of IB-MECA significantly reduced postepileptic mortality. Since the combination of an arteriole-constricting compound 48/80 and hypotension-inducing clonidine injected prior to NMDA results in a significant protection against seizures, and since acute stimulation of adenosine A3 receptor causes both arteriolar constriction and severe hypotension, there is a possibility that the protection obtained by the acutely administered drug may result from inadequate delivery of chemoconvulsants to the brain. It is, however, unknown whether the protective effect of chronically administered IB-MECA is related to the effect of the drug on blood flow, neuronal mechanisms, or both.

Effects of N6-cyclopentyl adenosine and 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine on N-methyl-D-aspartate induced seizures in mice.

The effect of the adenosine A1 receptor agonist N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) and antagonist 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (CPX) on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-evoked seizures was studied in C57BL/6 mice (20/group). Animals were injected i.p. either with CPA (0.5, 1, 2 mg/kg) or CPX (1, 2 mg/kg) 15 min prior to administration of NMDA (30, 60, 125 mg/kg). Administration of NMDA alone resulted in a complete locomotor arrest at 30 mg/kg, while clonic/tonic seizures and progressively increasing mortality were seen at higher doses. Prior administration of CPA resulted either in a delay of seizure onset and unchanged mortality (0.5 mg/kg CPA, 60 mg/kg NMDA) or in elimination of tonic episodes and a significant reduction in postictal mortality (1, 2 mg/kg CPA; 60, 125 mg/kg NMDA). Pretreatment with CPX at either 1 or 2 mg/kg eliminated locomotor depression in animals injected with NMDA at 30 mg/kg. At 60 mg/kg NMDA, the effect of CPX administration resulted in mortality equivalent to that seen with 125 mg/kg NMDA administered alone. The results indicate that A1 receptor agonists may protect against NMDA-evoked seizures and that the adenosine A1 receptor may be directly involved in these actions.

Effects of chronic administration of adenosine A1 receptor agonist and antagonist on spatial learning and memory

Spatial memory acquisition in Morris water maze was tested in C57BL/6 mice. Animals were injected once daily with different doses of either N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) or 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (CPX). Drugs were administered for 9 days either concurrently with water maze testing (drugs injected 1 h after each trial), or prior to the entire block of trials. In the latter case, 1 day without injections preceded water maze experiments. Chronic administration of CPA resulted in a significant, dose-dependent reduction of target latencies, rapid development of spatial preference, and the absence of animals unable to perform the task. CPX treated animals did not show significant performance changes, and failed to develop spatial preference. Locomotor disturbances were not the cause of the observed effects. Our results indicate that chronic treatment with agents acting at adenosine A1 receptors results in behavioral effects that are significantly different from those observed following their acute administration. Therefore, particular caution is required in development of adenosine-based strategies targeted at neurodegenerative or cognitive disorders in which chronic treatment is advocated.

Chronic adenosine A1 receptor agonist and antagonist : effect on receptor density and N-methyl-D-aspartate induced seizures in mice

The effect of chronic administration of the adenosine A1 receptor agonist N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) and the adenosine A1 antagonist 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (CPX) on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-evoked seizures was studied in C57BL/6 mice (20/group). Animals were injected i.p. for 9 days with either 1.0 mg/kg CPA or 1.0 mg/kg CPX followed by 2 injection-free days (the washout period) and subsequent administration of a single dose of 60 mg/kg NMDA. As in our previous study, this dose of NMDA caused clonic/tonic seizures resulting in high (60%) mortality within 3 h after injection of the drug. Despite insignificant changes in seizure latency, chronic pretreatment with CPA increased the incidence of clonic/tonic episodes and end-point mortality. Conversely; chronic exposure to CPX completely eliminated clonic/tonic episodes, significantly increased average survival time, and reduced end-point mortality (P < 0.05). The results indicate that chronic treatment with adenosine A1 receptor antagonist may protect against NMDA-evoked seizures to the same degree as previously observed following a single, acute exposure to CPA. Since the density of adenosine receptor binding sites was unchanged after chronic treatment with either CPX or CPA, it is likely that the mechanism behind the observed protection may rest at the level of second messenger systems coupled to adenosine A1 receptors.

Chronic administration of adenosine A3 receptor agonist and cerebral ischemia: neuronal and glial effects

We have previously shown that chronic administration of the selective A3 receptor agonist N6-(3-iodobenzyl)-5-N-methylcarboxoamidoadenosine (IB-MECA) leads to a significant improvement of postocclusive cerebral blood flow, and protects against neuronal damage and mortality induced by severe forebrain ischemia in gerbils. Using immunocytochemical methods we now show that chronic with IB-MECA results in a significant preservation of ischemia-sensitive microtubule associated protein 2 (MAP-2), enhancement of the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and a very intense depression of nitric oxide synthase in the brain of postischemic gerbils. These changes demonstrate that the cerebroprotective actions of chronically administered IB-MECA involve both neurons and glial cells, and indicate the possibility of distinct mechanisms that are affected in the course of chronic administration of the drug.