Metabolism of cAMP to adenosine: role in vasodilation of rat pial artery in response to hypotension

The cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) adenosine pathway was found to be a viable metabolic mechanism in the production of adenosine in the rat pial artery. It also contributes to the regulation of vasodilation in response to hypotension. These were the findings of an experiment on autoregulatory vasodilation in response to hypotension using cAMP and adenosine suffused resting pial arteries. Vasodilation was significantly reduced by pretreatment with 3,7-dimethyl-1-propargylxanthine, an A2 receptor antagonist.