Intrathecal injection of cell-permeable analogs of cyclic 3',5'-guanosine monophosphate produces hyperalgesia in mice.

Several recent studies suggest that spinal cord levels of cyclic 3',5'-guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) may participate in the development of hyperalgesia. The purpose of this study was to directly evaluate whether cell permeable analogues of cGMP evoke a thermal hyperalgesia (using a hot-plate assay) when administered intrathecally in mice. Our results indicate that two cell permeable forms of cGMP evoke a dose dependent hyperalgesia when administered intrathecally in mice. Additionally, this hyperalgesia was selective since neither non-cell permeant cGMP nor guanosine had any effect on the latency of paw withdrawal when compared to the vehicle injected controls. These data indicate that cGMP is involved in the facilitation of thermal hyperalgesia at the level of the spinal cord.

Urodilatin, not nitroprusside, combined with dopamine reverses ischemic acute renal failure.

The present study was undertaken to: (a) clarify the comparative renal potency of bolus injection of the natriuretic peptides urodilatin and ANF99-126 in the rat; (b) establish whether or not intravenous (i.v.) infusion of urodilatin (200 ng/min) combined with dopamine (UD) to maintain mean arterial pressure could improve GFR or renal histology in established experimental ischemic acute renal failure (ARF) induced by 30 minutes of bilateral renal artery clamping; (c) assess comparative efficacies of nitroprusside, an activator of soluble guanylate cyclase, combined with dopamine (ND) or control infusions of dopamine alone (DA), under equivalent conditions; and (d) determine effects of intra-renal arterial infusions of the stable cGMP analogue dibutyryl-cGMP immediately after renal artery clamping (RAC). After initial dose finding studies, i.v. infusion of UD 24 hours after 30 minutes of RAC improved GFR over five hours from 0.24 +/- 0.04 to 1.0 +/- 0.16 ml/min in association with a threefold rise in plasma cGMP and a 13-fold increase in urinary cGMP excretion. Plasma creatinine dropped by 41% from 230 +/- 16 to 135 +/- 18 microM/liter and was still reduced 24 hours later with values averaging 106 +/- 14 compared to 274 +/- 53 microM/liter in non-treated animals. During infusion, UV and FENa+ increased from 1.4 +/- 0.2 to 8.3 ml/min, and from 2.9 +/- 0.5 to maximum values of 15.8 +/- 2.4%. ND or DA alone were less effective, increasing GFR only to 14 and 20%, respectively, of normal values, but improvements were not sustained; in contrast to UD, ND did not alter plasma or urinary cGMP. In addition, DBcGMP was ineffective in improving GFR during early ARF. Histologically UD, but not ND, markedly reduced the incidence of granular casts, tubular desquamation and tubular necrosis in cortical areas and increased the incidence of medullary mitoses.

A caerulein-sensitive potentiation of the behavioral effects of apomorphine by dibutyryl-cAMP.

The dopaminergic behavioral effects of apomorphine in rats were evaluated using a rating scale. Caerulein, a decapeptide physiologically similar to cholecystokinin, enhanced at lower doses and inhibited at higher doses the behaviors induced by apomorphine. Dibutyryl-cAMP, but not dibutyryl-cGMP, potentiated apomorphine behaviors. This potentiation was inhibited by a high dose of caerulein. These data provide evidence for an opposing effect of cAMP and caerulein or cholecystokinin in modulating dopaminergic systems.

Antinociception following microinjection of dibutyryl cyclic nucleotides into the caudal reticular formation and periaqueductal gray of the rat brain.

The tail flick, paw pinch, and hot plate tests were used to assess changes in nociceptive threshold following microinjection of dibutyryl derivatives of cyclic nucleotides into areas of the central nervous system previously shown to be involved in modulation of nociceptive threshold and mediation of morphine analgesia. An elevation in the nociceptive threshold was observed on all three tests following administration of 10 micrograms dibutyryl cyclic 3':5' adenosine monophosphate (db cAMP) into the caudal brainstem reticular formation (CRF) and periaqueductal gray (PAG). Two micrograms db cAMP produced the same magnitude of analgesia but had a shorter duration of action. Twenty micrograms dibutyryl cyclic 3':5' guanosine monophosphate (db cGMP) produced analgesia on all three tests following microinjection at CRF sites but not at PAG sites. These data indicate that morphine analgesia and the antinociception produced by cyclic nucleotides may involve, at least in part, common neuronal substrates. However, the observed capacity of db cAMP to elevate nociceptive threshold does not support the hypothesis that the mechanism of morphine's analgesic action involves inhibition of adenylate cyclase.