N6-(Phenylisopropyl)adenosine prevents glucagon both blocking insulin's activation of the plasma-membrane cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase and uncoupling hormonal stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity in hepatocytes.

Glucagon (10nM) prevented insulin (10nM) from activating the plasma-membrane cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase. This effect of glucagon was abolished by either PIA [N6-(phenylisopropyl)adenosine] (100nM) or adenosine (10 microM). Neither PIA nor adenosine exerted any effect on the plasma-membrane cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity either alone or in combination with glucagon. Furthermore, PIA and adenosine did not potentiate the action of insulin in activating this enzyme. 2-Deoxy-adenosine (10 microM) was ineffective in mimicking the action of adenosine. The effect of PIA in preventing the blockade by glucagon of insulin's action was inhibited by low concentrations of theophylline. Half-maximal effects of PIA were elicited at around 6nM-PIA. It is suggested that adenosine is exerting its effects on this system through an R-type receptor. This receptor does not appear to be directly coupled to adenylate cyclase, however, as PIA did not affect either the activity of adenylate cyclase or intracellular cyclic AMP concentrations. Insulin's activation of the plasma-membrane cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase, in the presence of both glucagon and PIA, was augmented by increasing intracellular cyclic AMP concentrations with either dibutyryl cyclic AMP or the cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor Ro-20-1724. PIA also inhibited the ability of glucagon to uncouple (desensitize) adenylate cyclase activity in intact hepatocytes. This occurred at a half-maximal concentration of around 3 microM-PIA. However, if insulin (10 nM) was also present in the incubation medium, PIA exerted its action at a much lower concentration, with a half-maximal effect occurring at around 4 nM.