Beta 1-adrenergic selectivity of the new cardiotonic agent denopamine in its stimulating effects on adenylate cyclase

Effects of the new selectively beta 1-adrenergic cardiotonic drug denopamine (TA-064), (-)-(R)-1-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-[(3,4-dimethoxyphenethyl)amino]ethanol, on the adenylate cyclase-adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate (c-AMP) system of various tissues and cells in rats and guinea pigs were investigated in comparison with those of isoproterenol. Denopamine at concentrations above 10(-6) M stimulated lipolysis in vitro, and, above 10(-5) M, elevated the c-AMP level in isolated rat fat cells. The c-AMP level of guinea-pig heart ventricular muscle was also elevated when the heart was perfused with 3 X 10(-6) M denopamine or when slices of ventricular muscle were incubated with 10(-6) M denopamine. These changes were abolished in the presence of beta-adrenergic antagonists. Incubation with denopamine did not cause substantial elevation of c-AMP levels in rat reticulocytes and diaphragm. Denopamine activated adenylate cyclase of the rat cell membranes in a concentration-dependent manner. Although dose dependence was less apparent, denopamine also activated adenylate cyclase of the membrane fraction from guinea pig cardiac muscle, but it hardly activated the same enzyme from rat reticulocytes. Isoproterenol, on the other hand, showed marked concentration-dependent activation of adenylate cyclase in all these preparations. Denopamine did not inhibit c-AMP phosphodiesterase of both particulate and supernatant fractions of guinea-pig cardiac muscle. The stimulation of lipolysis by denopamine was observed even when elevation of the c-AMP level was not detected, while the stimulation of lipolysis by isoproterenol was always accompanied with an elevation of c-AMP. When guinea-pig hearts were perfused with 3 X 10(-6) M denopamine or 10(-7) M isoproterenol, their cardiotonic effects were of the same magnitude whereas the degree of c-AMP elevation in the ventricular tissue by denopamine was significantly less than that by isoproterenol. It was concluded that stimulation of the adenylate cyclase-c-AMP system by denopamine was restricted to the tissues whose receptors were predominantly of the beta 1-type, and that the elevation of c-AMP levels in these tissues by denopamine was less marked than by isoproterenol, suggesting that the stimulation of lipolysis and heart by denopamine may be mediated by a special pool of c-AMP or some other unknown factor(s).