Vasoconstrictor effects of uridine and its nucleotides and their inhibition by adenosine

Uridine, uridine monophosphate (UMP) and uridine diphosphate (UDP) increased blood pressure when infused into intact anaesthetized rats and had similar effects on the perfusion pressure in the rat isolated perfused kidney. In an isolated vascular preparation, the everted rat portal vein, uridine was without effect while UMP and UDP caused log dose-related increases in contractile work. Adenosine infused at a dose of 200 nmol/kg per min blocked the response to uridine in the intact rat, converting it to a depressor response at higher doses, and reduced the response to UMP. Uridine may need to be phosphorylated to UMP to act on blood vessels. The two compounds are effective at similar dose ranges and suppress renin secretion in the isolated kidney, while UDP, which is effective at lower doses and stimulates renin secretion, may act by a different mechanism. Adenosine competes for membrane transport with uridine but its inhibition of the effects of UMP is consistent with activity at intracellular sites as well.