Evidence for control of adenosine metabolism in rat oxidative skeletal muscle by changes in pH. (9/217)

1. We investigated the effects of pH elevation or depression on adenosine output from buffer-perfused rat gracilis muscle, and kinetic properties of adenosine-forming enzymes, 5'-nucleotidase (5'N) and non-specific phosphatase (PT), and adenosine-removing enzymes, adenosine kinase (AK) and adenosine deaminase (AD), in homogenates of muscle. 2. Depression of the perfusion buffer pH from 7.4 to 6.8, by addition of sodium acetate, reduced arterial perfusion pressure from 8.44 +/- 1.44 to 7.33 +/- 0.58 kPa, and increased adenosine output from 35 +/- 5 to 56 +/- 6 pmol min-1 (g wet wt muscle)-1 and AMP output from 1.8 +/- 0.3 to 9.1 +/- 3.9 pmol min-1 (g wet wt muscle)-1. 3. Elevation of the buffer pH to 7.8, by addition of ammonium chloride, reduced arterial perfusion pressure from 8.74 +/- 0.57 to 6.96 +/- 1.37 kPa, and increased adenosine output from 25 +/- 5 to 47 +/- 8 pmol min-1 (g wet wt muscle)-1 and AMP output from 3.7 +/- 1.1 to 24.6 +/- 6.8 pmol min-1 (g wet wt muscle)-1. 4. Activity of membrane-bound 5'N was an order of magnitude higher than that of either cytosolic 5'N or PT: pH depression reduced the K(m) of 5'N, which increased its capacity to form adenosine by 10-20% for every 0.5 unit decrease inpH within the physiological range. PT was only found in the membrane fraction: its contribution to extracellular adenosine formation increased from about 5% at pH 7.0 to about 15% at pH 8.0. 5. Cytosolic 5'N had a low activity, which was unaffected by pH; the rate of intracellular adenosine formation was an order of magnitude lower than the rate of adenosine removal by adenosine kinase or adenosine deaminase, which were both exclusively intracellular enzymes. 6. We conclude that (i) adenosine is formed in the extracellular compartment of rat skeletal muscle, principally by membrane-bound 5'N, where it is protected from enzymatic breakdown; (ii) adenosine is formed intracellularly at a very low rate, and is unlikely to leave the cell; (iii) enhanced adenosine formation at low pH is driven by an increased extracellular AMP concentration and an increased affinity of membrane-bound 5'N for AMP; (iv) enhanced adenosine formation at high pH is driven solely by the elevated extracellular AMP concentration, since the catalytic capacity of membrane 5'N is reduced at high pH.  (+info)

Adenosine-mediated killing of cultured epithelial cancer cells. (10/217)

Because micromolar concentrations of adenosine (Ado) have been documented recently in the interstitial fluid of carcinomas growing in animals, we examined the effects of low concentrations of Ado on the growth of cultured human carcinoma cells. Ado alone had little effect upon cell growth. In the presence of one of a number of Ado deaminase (ADA) inhibitors, Ado led to significant growth inhibition of all cell lines tested. Similar effects were found when ATP, ADP, or AMP was substituted for Ado. Surprisingly, the ADA inhibitor coformycin (CF) had a much greater potentiating effect than did 2'-deoxycoformycin (DCF), although DCF is a more potent ADA inhibitor. The growth inhibition of the Ado/CF combination was not abrogated by pyrimidines or caffeine, a nonspecific Ado receptor blocker. Toxicity was prevented by the addition of the Ado transport inhibitor dipyridamole or the Ado kinase inhibitor 5'-amino 5'-deoxyadenosine. S-Adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase is not involved because neither homocysteine thiolactone nor an S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase inhibitor (adenosine dialdehyde) potentiated toxicity of the Ado/CF combination. Unexpectedly, substitution of 2'-deoxyadenosine (the toxic moiety in congenital ADA deficiency) for Ado, did not lead to equivalent toxicity. The Ado/CF combination inhibited DNA synthesis and brought about morphological changes consistent with apoptosis. Together, these findings indicate that the Ado-mediated killing proceeds via an intracellular route that requires the action of Ado kinase. The enhanced cofactor activity of CF may be attributable to its being a more potent inhibitor of AMP deaminase than is DCF.  (+info)

Crystal structure of adenosine kinase from Toxoplasma gondii at 1.8 A resolution. (11/217)

Human infection with Toxoplasma gondii is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Protozoan parasites such as T. gondii are incapable of de novo purine biosynthesis and must acquire purines from their host, so the purine salvage pathway offers a number of potential targets for antiparasitic chemotherapy. In T. gondii tachyzoites, adenosine is the predominantly salvaged purine nucleoside, and thus adenosine kinase is a key enzyme in the purine salvage pathway of this parasite. The structure of T. gondii adenosine kinase was solved using molecular replacement and refined by simulated annealing at 1.8 A resolution to an R-factor of 0.214. The overall structure and the active site geometry are similar to human adenosine kinase, although there are significant differences. The T. gondii adenosine kinase has several unique features compared to the human sequence, including a five-residue deletion in one of the four linking segments between the two domains, which is probably responsible for a major change in the orientation of the two domains with respect to each other. These structural differences suggest the possibility of developing specific inhibitors of the parasitic enzyme.  (+info)

Suppression of TNF-alpha production in human mononuclear cells by an adenosine kinase inhibitor. (12/217)

Adenosine exerts potent anti-inflammatory activities through inhibition of cytokine synthesis by activated monocytes. Adenosine is rapidly phosphorylated intracellularly by adenosine kinase. GP515, an adenosine kinase inhibitor, prevents the phosphorylation of adenosine to AMP and thereby locally enhances the adenosine concentration. GP515 has exhibited significant anti-inflammatory effects in several murine models of inflammation. In this study we investigated the effect of GP515 alone and in combination with exogenous adenosine or with rolipram, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, on tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) synthesis in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) or whole blood. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 10 ng/mL)-stimulated PBMC were incubated in the absence or presence of these substances. GP515 alone showed a dose-dependent suppression of TNF-alpha production with an IC50 of 80 microM. The TNF-alpha-inhibiting effects of adenosine and GP515 were reversed in the presence of the cAMP antagonist (Rp)-cAMPS, supporting the hypothesis of a cAMP-mediated pathway. Combinations of GP515 with either adenosine or rolipram led to an additive inhibition of TNF-alpha synthesis. These experiments are the first to demonstrate efficacy of an adenosine kinase inhibitor in TNF-alpha suppression in cells of human origin. The findings form a basis to investigate these strategies in animal models of TNF-alpha-mediated chronic inflammatory diseases.  (+info)

Nitric oxide-stimulated increase in extracellular adenosine accumulation in rat forebrain neurons in culture is associated with ATP hydrolysis and inhibition of adenosine kinase activity. (13/217)

Adenosine is a putative endogenous sleep-inducing substance, and nitric oxide has been implicated in arousal and sleep mechanisms. We found that various nitric oxide donors, including diethylamine NONOate (DEA/NO), stimulated large increases in extracellular adenosine in nearly pure cultures of forebrain neurons. The effect of DEA/NO could be blocked by 2-phenyl-4,4,5, 5-tetramethyl-imidazoline-1-oxyl-oxide and could not be mimicked by degraded solutions of DEA/NO or by DEA itself; therefore, it was caused by nitric oxide release on hydrolysis of the parent compound. The accumulation of adenosine was not blocked by probenecid or GMP, suggesting that neither extracellular cAMP nor extracellular AMP was the source, and that adenosine was therefore the most likely species transported across the plasma membrane. To pursue this further, we tested the effect of DEA/NO on cellular ATP and found a significant fall in ATP associated with exposure to nitric oxide. In addition, exposure to DEA/NO nearly completely inhibited adenosine kinase activity. It has been found previously that adenosine kinase is inhibited by its substrate, adenosine. We found that exposure to nitric oxide increased intracellular adenosine to 125 +/- 18% of control values (p < 0.01), consistent with the possibility that in our system the inhibition of adenosine kinase is related to an increase in intracellular adenosine, and that the effect of nitric oxide on extracellular adenosine is significantly potentiated by substrate inhibition of adenosine kinase. Furthermore, nitric oxide-stimulated adenosine accumulation may be important in the regulation of behavioral state.  (+info)

Inhibition of adenosine kinase induces expression of VEGF mRNA and protein in myocardial myoblasts. (14/217)

We tested whether increased endogenous adenosine produced by the adenosine kinase inhibitor GP-515 (Metabasis Therapeutics) can induce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in cultured rat myocardial myoblasts (RMMs). RMMs were cultured for 18 h in the absence (control) and presence of GP-515, adenosine (Ado), adenosine deaminase (ADA), or GP-515 + ADA. GP-515 (0.2-200 microM) caused a dose-related increase in VEGF protein expression (1.99-2.84 ng/mg total cell protein); control VEGF was 1.84 +/- 0.05 ng/mg. GP-515 at 2 and 20 microM also increased VEGF mRNA by 1.67- and 1. 82-fold, respectively. ADA (10 U/ml) decreased baseline VEGF protein levels by 60% and completely blocked GP-515 induction of VEGF. Ado (20 microM) and GP-515 (20 microM) caused a 59 and 39% increase in VEGF protein expression and a 98 and 33% increase in human umbilical vein endothelial cell proliferation, respectively, after 24 h of exposure. GP-515 (20 microM) had no effect on VEGF protein expression during severe hypoxia (1% O(2)) but increased VEGF by an additional 27% during mild hypoxia (10% O(2)). These results indicate that raising endogenous levels of Ado through inhibition of adenosine kinase can increase the expression of VEGF and stimulate endothelial cell proliferation during normoxic and hypoxic conditions.  (+info)

ABT-702 (4-amino-5-(3-bromophenyl)-7-(6-morpholinopyridin-3-yl)pyrido[2, 3-d]pyrimidine), a novel orally effective adenosine kinase inhibitor with analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties: I. In vitro characterization and acute antinociceptive effects in the mouse. (15/217)

Adenosine (ADO) is an inhibitory neuromodulator that can increase nociceptive thresholds in response to noxious stimulation. Inhibition of the ADO-metabolizing enzyme adenosine kinase (AK) increases extracellular ADO concentrations at sites of tissue trauma and AK inhibitors may have therapeutic potential as analgesic and anti-inflammatory agents. ABT-702 is a novel and potent (IC(50) = 1. 7 nM) non-nucleoside AK inhibitor that has several orders of magnitude selectivity over other sites of ADO interaction (A(1), A(2A), A(3) receptors, ADO transporter, and ADO deaminase). ABT-702 was 1300- to 7700-fold selective for AK compared with a number of other neurotransmitter and peptide receptors, ion channel proteins, neurotransmitter/nucleoside reuptake sites, and enzymes, including cycloxygenases-1 and -2. ABT-702 was equipotent (IC(50) = 1.5 +/- 0. 3 nM) in inhibiting native human AK (placenta), two human recombinant isoforms (AK(long) and AK(short)), and AK from monkey, dog, rat, and mouse brain. Kinetic studies revealed that AK inhibition by ABT-702 was competitive with respect to ADO and noncompetitive with respect to MgATP(2-). AK inhibition by ABT-702 was demonstrated to be reversible after 4 h of dialysis. ABT-702 is orally active and fully efficacious in reducing acute somatic nociception (ED(50) = 8 micromol/kg i.p.; 65 micromol/kg p.o.) in the mouse hot-plate assay. ABT-702 also dose dependently reduced nociception in the phenyl-p-quinone-induced abdominal constriction assay. The antinociceptive effects of ABT-702 in the hot-plate assay were blocked by the nonselective ADO receptor antagonist theophylline, and by the A(1)-selective antagonist cyclopentyltheophylline (10 mg/kg i.p.), but not by a peripherally selective ADO receptor antagonist 8-(p-sulfophenyl)-theophylline (50 mg/kg i.p.), by the A(2A)-selective antagonist 3, 7-dimethyl-1-propargylxanthine (1 mg/kg i.p.) or the opioid antagonist naloxone (5 mg/kg i.p.). Thus, ABT-702 is a novel and potent non-nucleoside AK inhibitor that effectively reduces acute thermal nociception in the mouse by a nonopioid, non-nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, ADO A(1) receptor-mediated mechanism.  (+info)

ABT-702 (4-amino-5-(3-bromophenyl)-7-(6-morpholino-pyridin- 3-yl)pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine), a novel orally effective adenosine kinase inhibitor with analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. II. In vivo characterization in the rat. (16/217)

Adenosine kinase (AK; EC 2.7.1.20) is a key intracellular enzyme regulating intra-and extracellular concentrations of adenosine (ADO), an endogenous neuromodulator, antinociceptive, and anti-inflammatory autocoid. AK inhibition provides a means of potentiating local tissue concentrations of endogenous ADO, and AK inhibitors may have therapeutic potential as analgesic and anti-inflammatory agents. The effects of ABT-702, a novel, potent (IC(50) = 1.7 nM), and selective non-nucleoside AK inhibitor were examined in rat models of nociception and acute inflammation. ABT-702 was orally effective and fully efficacious to suppress nociception in a spectrum of pain models in the rat, including carrageenan-induced thermal hyperalgesia, the formalin test of persistent pain, and models of nerve injury-induced and diabetic neuropathic pain (tactile allodynia after L5/L6 spinal nerve ligation or streptozotocin injection, respectively.) ABT-702 was especially potent at relieving inflammatory thermal hyperalgesia (ED(50) = 5 micromol/kg p.o.). ABT-702 was also effective in the carrageenan-induced paw edema model of acute inflammation (ED(50) = 70 micromol/kg p.o.). The antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of ABT-702 were blocked by selective ADO receptor antagonists, consistent with endogenous ADO accumulation and ADO receptor activation as a mechanism of action. The antinociceptive effects of ABT-702 were not blocked by the opioid antagonist naloxone. In addition, ABT-702 showed less potential to develop tolerance to its antinociceptive effects compared with morphine. ABT-702 had no significant effect on rotorod performance or heart rate (at 30-300 micromol/kg p.o.), mean arterial pressure (at 30-100 micromol/kg p.o.), or exploratory locomotor activity (at +info)