title: Ro 15-1788 both antagonizes and potentiates adenosine-evoked depression of cerebral cortical neurons.
abstract: The effects of Ro 15-1788, a benzodiazepine antagonist with some agonist properties, were studied on adenosine and adenosine 5'-N-ethyl-carboxamide (NECA)-evoked depressions of rat cerebral cortical neuronal activity. Iontophoretically applied Ro 15-1788 had both antagonistic and potentiative interactions with adenosine. Reductions in the magnitude of adenosine-evoked depressions of firing were evident during the period of Ro 15-1788 application, with a long-lasting potentiative effect becoming apparent upon termination of the Ro 15-1788 application. Depressions of cell firing evoked by NECA, an uptake-resistant analog of adenosine, were antagonized by Ro 15-1788, with no subsequent potentiation. Larger applications of Ro 15-1788 had a depressant action on neuronal firing, which was antagonized by caffeine (20 mg/kg), an adenosine receptor blocker. These results indicate that Ro 15-1788 may be an antagonist at the adenosine receptor as well as a potentiator of the adenosine response. The prolongation of the adenosine depression is likely to be the result of a persistent inhibition of adenosine uptake by Ro 15-1788. These diverse effects on the adenosine response may account for some of the complex behavioral actions of Ro 15-1788.
mesh_terms: D000241:Adenosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D019830:Adenosine-5'-(N-ethylcarboxamide); D000818:Animals; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D005442:Flumazenil / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D019830:Adenosine-5'-(N-ethylcarboxamide); D002110:Caffeine; D005442:Flumazenil; D000241:Adenosine