The effect of chronic in vivo infusion of forskolin on noradrenergic receptor sensitivity.

Forskolin, a diterpene isolated from the plant Coleus forskolii, activates the catalytic subunit of adenylate cyclase, resulting in a hormone receptor-independent increase in the intracellular production of cyclic AMP. This study was undertaken to assess the effect of chronic in vivo infusion of forskolin on noradrenergic neuronal activity. Forskolin was infused into the right lateral ventricle of male Sprague Dawley rats via Alzet osmotic minipumps (model 2001) for 7 days. Chronic infusion of forskolin resulted in a decrease in norepinephrine-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation in the limbic forebrain. Chronic infusion of forskolin also resulted in a decrease in the Bmax for 3H-dihydroalprenolol (3H-DHA) binding to beta-adrenergic receptors in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, with no apparent change in the Kd values. These data suggest the possibility of a novel therapeutic approach to modulating receptor sensitivity, and that chronic infusion of forskolin may be a useful model for studying the role of cyclic AMP in the control of neuronal activity.