Studies on several pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine analogues of adenosine which lack significant agonist activity at A1 and A2 receptors but have potent pharmacological activity in vivo.

5'-Deoxy-5-iodotubercidin was previously reported to cause potent muscle relaxation and hypothermia when injected i.p. into mice. In normotensive rats, i.v. injection reduced blood pressure and heart rate. 5-Iodotubercidin possessed the same in vivo activities whereas tubercidin was pharmacologically almost inactive. None of these compounds interacted significantly with Al adenosine receptors, as determined by their ability to displace 3H-N6-phenylisopropyladenosine or 3H-5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine bound to rat brain membranes. Furthermore these compounds were much weaker than adenosine as agonists of adenosine-stimulated adenylate cyclase in guinea-pig brain slices (A2 receptors). A previous report showed that 5'-deoxy-5-iodotubercidin and 5-iodotubercidin were very potent inhibitors of adenosine kinase from rat or guinea-pig brain and were potent inhibitors of 3H-adenosine uptake into brain slices; relative to the halogenated derivatives, tubercidin was quite weak as an inhibitor of adenosine kinase and of adenosine uptake. We therefore propose that a significant part of the in vivo activity of the two halogenated tubercidin analogues may not be due to a direct agonist action at A1 and/or A2 adenosine sites (as proposed for a number of other metabolically-stable analogues of adenosine) but may result from an inhibition of reuptake of endogenously-released adenosine; the increased extracellular levels of adenosine resulting from this action could then interact directly with membrane receptors. Consistent with this, low concentrations of 5'-deoxy-5-iodotubercidin were shown to significantly potentiate the effects of exogenous adenosine on blood pressure and heart rate in anaesthetized rats and on adenosine-stimulated cAMP generation in guinea-pig brain slices. None of these compounds interacted with central benzodiazepine receptors. The cardiovascular and behavioural effects of 5'-deoxy-5-iodotubercidin and 5-iodotubercidin were blocked by theophylline; results from the cardiovascular studies suggest there may be different adenosine receptors in heart and blood vessels.