Modulation of the forskolin-induced cyclic AMP accumulation by corticosterone

Experiments were undertaken to examine the influence of corticosterone on forskolin-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation in rat cerebral cortical slices. Incubation in vitro of cerebral cortical slices with increasing concentrations of corticosterone (1 nM-100 microM) did not influence basal cyclic AMP response. Despite the lack of effect when used alone, corticosterone attenuated the effect of forskolin (10 microM) on cyclic AMP accumulation with IC50 = 24.1 +/- 5.1 microM. Corticosterone (10 microM) added to the incubation medium, for 10 min, reduced the cyclic AMP accumulation in response to increasing concentrations of forskolin (1 microM-100 microM), the concentration-response curve was shifted to the right by about one order of magnitude. In order to compare the in vitro effect of corticosterone with its effects in vivo in the next experiment the forskolin-induced cyclic AMP accumulation was measured in cerebral cortical slices from rats which were treated with corticosterone or vehicle. Similarly as in in vitro model, single dose of corticosterone (10 mg/kg sc) given to rats 2 h before sacrifice inhibited forskolin-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation when compared with vehicle-treated control animals. In contrast, prolonged administration of corticosterone (10 mg/kg sc, twice daily for 4 and 7 days) increased forskolin-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation in rat cerebral cortical slices when measured 2, 24 and 48 h after the administration of the last dose. These findings suggest that glucocorticoids exert multiple actions on the adenylate cyclase-coupled cyclic AMP generating system in the brain, with the ultimate effect being dependent upon amount and duration of exposure to these hormones.