Targeting the adenosine A2A receptor for neuroprotection and cognitive improvement in traumatic brain injury and Parkinson's disease

Adenosine exerts its dual functions of homeostasis and neuromodulation in the brain by acting at mainly 2 G-protein coupled receptors,called A1 and A2A receptors.The adenosine A2A receptor(A2AR)antagonists have been clinically pursued for the last 2 decades,leading to final approval of the istradefylline,an A2AR antagonist,for the treatment of OFF-Parkinson's disease(PD)patients.The approval paves the way to develop novel therapeutic methods for A2AR antagonists to address 2 major unmet medical needs in PD and traumatic brain injury(TBI),namely neuroprotection or improving cognition.In this review,we first consider the evidence for aberrantly increased adenosine signaling in PD and TBI and the sufficiency of the increased A2AR signaling to trigger neurotoxicity and cognitive impairment.We further discuss the increasing preclinical data on the reversal of cognitive deficits in PD and TBI by A2AR antagonists through control of degenerative proteins and synaptotoxicity,and on protection against TBI and PD pathologies by A2AR antagonists through control of neuroinflammation.Moreover,we provide the supporting evidence from multiple human prospective epidemiological studies which revealed an inverse relation between the consumption of caffeine and the risk of developing PD and cognitive decline in aging population and Alzheimer's disease patients.Collectively,the convergence of clinical,epidemiological and experimental evidence supports the validity of A2AR as a new therapeutic target and facilitates the design of A2AR antagonists in clinical trials for disease-modifying and cognitive benefit in PD and TBI patients.

Unlocking antitumor immunity with adenosine receptorblockers

Tumors survive by creating a tumor microenvironment(TME)that suppresses antitumor immunity.The TME suppresses the immune system by limiting antigen presentation,inhibiting lymphocyte and natural killer(NK)cell activation,and facilitating T cell exhaustion.Checkpoint inhibitors like anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA4 are immunostimulatory antibodies,and their blockade extends the survival of some but not all cancer patients.Extracellular adenosine triphosphate(ATP)is abundant in inflamed tumors,and its metabolite,adenosine(ADO),is a driver of immunosuppression mediated by adenosine A2A receptors(A2AR)and adenosine A2B receptors(A2BR)found on tumor-associated lymphoid and myeloid cells.This review will focus on adenosine as a key checkpoint inhibitor-like immunosuppressive player in the TME and how reducing adenosine production or blocking A2AR and A2BR enhances antitumor immunity.

Regulation of epithelial sodium channel ^-subunit expression by adenosine receptor A2a in alveolar epithelial ceils

Background The amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channel a-subunit （a-ENaC） is an important factor for alveolar fluid clearance during acute lung injury. The relationship between adenosine receptor A2a （A2aAR） expressed in alveolar epithelial cells and aα-ENaC is poorly understood. We targeted the A2aAR in this study to investigate its role in the expression of αa-ENaC and in acute lung injury.Methods A549 cells were incubated with different concentrations of A2aAR agonist CGS-21680 and with 100 μmol/L CGS-21680 for various times. Rats were treated with lipopolysaccharide （LPS） after CGS-21680 was injected. Animals were sacrificed and tissue was harvested for evaluation of lung injury by analysis of the lung wet-to-dry weight ratio, lung permeability and myeloperoxidase activity. RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to determine the mRNA and protein expression levels of α-ENaC in A549 cells and alveolar type II epithelial cells.Results Both mRNA and protein levels of α-ENaC were markedly higher from 4 hours to 24 hours after exposure to 100μmol/L CGS-21680. There were significant changes from 0.1 umol/L to 100 μmol/L CGS-21680, with a positive correlation between increased concentrations of CGS-21680 and expression of α-ENaC. Treatment with CGS-21680during LPS induced lung injury protected the lung and promoted α-ENaC expression in the alveolar epithelial cells.Conclusion Activation of A2aAR has a protective effect during the lung injury, which may be beneficial to the prognosis of acute lung injury

The plant hormone zeatin riboside inhibits T lymphocyte activity via adenosine A2A receptor activation

Cytokinins are plant hormones that play an integral role in multiple aspects of plant growth and development. The biological functions of cytokinins in mammalian systems are, however, largely uncharacterized. The naturally occurring cytokinin zeatin riboside has recently been demonstrated to activate the mammalian adenosine A2A receptor, which is broadly expressed by various cell types including immune system cells, with the activation of the A2AR playing a role in the regulation of cells involved in both innate and adaptive immunity. We show for the first time that zeatin riboside modulates mammalian immune system activity via an A2AR-dependent mechanism. Specifically, zeatin riboside treatment induces the production of cyclic adenosine monophosphate （cAMP） by T lymphocytes and inhibits the production by CD3^＋CD4^＋ T cells of interferon （IFN）-γ, IL-2, tumor-necrosis factor （TNF）-α, IL-4 and IL-13, and the production by CD3^＋CD8^＋ T cells of IFN-γ, IL-2 and TNF-α. Additionally, the upregulation of CD25, CD69 and CD40L by activated T lymphocytes is modulated by zeatin riboside. Zeatin riboside treatment also potently inhibits thioglycollate-induced peritoneal leukocytosis. The immunomodulatory activities of zeatin riboside are blocked by co-treatment with the selective A2AR antagonist ZM241385. These data suggest that zeatin riboside possesses therapeutic potential as a mammalian immunomodulatory agent.