Adenosine produces pulmonary vasodilation in the perfused rabbit lung via an adenosine A2 receptor

Adenosine is a potent pulmonary vasodilator that has been used in therapy for clinical and experimental pulmonary hypertension. To determine the receptor responsible for adenosine-induced pulmonary vasodilation, we studied the relative potency of four adenosine agonists in the isolated buffer-perfused rabbit lung during pulmonary hypertension due to infusion of the thromboxane A2 mimetic U46619. The ED50 values for pulmonary vasodilation were 1.9 x 10(-8) mol/L for 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (NECA), 4.5 x 10(-8) mol/L for 2-phenylaminoadenosine (CV-1808), 2.6 x 10(-6) mol/L for R(-)-N6-(2-phenylisopropyl) adenosine (R-PIA), and 6.5 x 10(-6) mol/L for cyclopentyladenosine, results consistent with an adenosine A2 receptor. Pretreatment with the adenosine A1 receptor antagonist cyclopentyltheophylline did not affect the dose-response curve to NECA, and pretreatment with the adenosine A2 receptor antagonist CGS 15943A increased the ED50 of NECA to 2.7 x 10(-7) mol/L. These results suggest that adenosine produces pulmonary vasodilation via activation of an adenosine A2 receptor.