Neurally mediated cardiac effects of forskolin in conscious dogs

Because major cardiovascular disease states are characterized by defects in adenylyl cyclase regulation, it becomes important to understand the mechanisms by which adenylyl cyclase activators affect inotropy and chronotropy in intact conscious animals. Accordingly, we examined the inotropic and chronotropic responses to forskolin in 11 normal conscious, chronically instrumented dogs and 3 dogs with ventricular denervation (VD). Left ventricular first derivative of pressure (LV dP/dt) increased by 96 +/- 7%, P < 0.05, in response to forskolin (50 nmol.kg-1.min-1) in normal dogs and by significantly less, 52 +/- 14%, in VD dogs. Circulating norepinephrine (NE) levels increased similarly in both groups (from 226 +/- 18 to 389 +/- 33 pg/ml in normal dogs, from 177 +/- 23 to 329 +/- 71 pg/ml in VD dogs). In the presence of ganglionic blockade, the increase in LV dP/dt in response to forskolin was reduced (+62 +/- 4%) in normal dogs but was unchanged in VD dogs (+52 +/- 12%). Ganglionic blockade abolished the increase in circulating NE levels in both groups. Increases in heart rate in the presence of ganglionic blockade (+54 +/- 6 beats/min) were less than in the presence of atropine alone (+92 +/- 10 beats/min). Notably, the LV dP/dt and heart rate responses to forskolin were further attenuated by beta-adrenergic receptor blockade in the presence and absence of ganglionic blockade. Morphine also attenuated the increases in both LV dP/dt and plasma NE in response to forskolin. Increases in LV dP/dt in response to NKH-477 (30 micrograms/kg), a water-soluble forskolin derivative, were similar before and after ganglionic blockade (+63 +/- 8 and +51 +/- 10%, respectively). However, in vitro experiments in LV sarcolemmal membrane preparations demonstrated that stimulation of adenylyl cyclase by forskolin and NKH-477 was not affected by beta-adrenergic receptor blockade. These results indicate that in conscious dogs, inotropic and chronotropic effects of forskolin are not only due to direct activation of adenylyl cyclase, but the effects also are mediated by neural mechanisms and potentiated by the prevailing level of sympathetic tone.