NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE ANTIPLATELET ACTIVITY OF FORSKOLIN: ROLE OF PLASMA ADENOSINE AND SPECIES DIFFERENCES

Abstract

Forskolin stimulates adenylate cyclase by interacting with the catalytic subunit and inhibits platelet aggregation. This inhibition is greatly potentiated by adenosine (Ado) which stimulates adenylate cyclase through membrane-bound Ado receptors. Forskolin is 2-4 fold more potent as an inhibitor of collagen-induced rat platelet aggregation as compared to human platelets (IC50 values, in rat PRP, 0.5-0.8 μM; in human PRP, 1.5-2 μM). However, if the blood is pretreated with adenosine deaminase (ADA), an enzyme that degrades Ado to inosine, the inhibitory action of forskolin is greatly reduced producing similar effects both in human and rat PRPs (IC50, 2-3 μM) and whole blood (IC50, 4.6 μM). Both 5’-methylthioadenosine (MTA, 50-100 μM), an antagonist of Ado receptors, and 2’,5’-dideoxyadenosine (DDA, 100 μM), an inhibitor of adenylate cyclase, reverse the inhibition of platelet aggregation in rat PRP, whereas, no reversal is seen in human PRP. When Ado in the rat plasma is degraded by ADA pretreatment, DDA or MTA shows no reversal as seen in human PRP. The inhibitory action of forskolin (1-2 μM), which is only weakly inhibitory alone (<20%) in human whole blood, can be greatly potentiated (100% inhibition) by the inhibitors of nucleoside transport, dipyridamole (10 μM) or dilazep (2 μM). Only slight potentiation is seen in rat whole blood suggesting that rat plasma Ado levels are not affected significantly perhaps due to weakly active erythrocytic nucleoside transport system. Sato and Ui (In: Physiology and Pharmacology of Adenosine, Daly et al, Eds. Raven Press, 1983, 1-11), have shown that rat plasma contains much higher Ado levels (7.55 ± 0.51 pM) than human plasma (0.29 ± 0.08 μM). These studies demonstrate that plasma adenosine plays an important role in the forskolin antiplatelet activity which can be greatly potentiated in human whole blood by the clinically used drugs, dipyridamole and dilazep. (Supported by US PHS Grant CA 07340).