Zaprinast is (M&B 22,948; 2-o-propoxy-phenyl-8-azapurin-6-one) is a selective inhibitor of cyclic GMP (cGMP)-dependent phosphodiesterases, with vasodilation activity in a variety of species and tissues. The potency of zaprinast as a vasorelaxant varies with the species, the tissue, and the presence and absence of endothelium. Zaprinast apparently loses all or most of its vasorelaxant capacity when arteries have been denuded of the endothelial cell layer. Alternatively, the vasorelaxant effects of zaprinast can be attenuated using methylene blue, an inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase and hemoglobin inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis. Therefore, zaprinast-induced relaxations appear to be endothelium-dependent. In human platelets zaprinast, at a dose of 10 mkM, caused a modest (20%) inhibition of aggregation as well as a small increase in cGMP content. In anesthetized rats, zaprinast dose-dependently lowered mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), an effect that correlated well with increased levels of plasma cGMP. Zaprinast decreased mean arterial pressure, the reduction being inversely related to zaprinast concentration. Zaprinast had no effect on heart rate, but increased cardiac output, urinary output, urinary sodium excretion, as well as renal blood flow. Oral administration of zaprinast to spontaneously hypertensive rats at a dose of 200 mg/kg/day normalized blood pressure. In normotensive rats, however, no changes in blood pressure were observed with the same treatment. In an initial placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover trial, 10 mg of zaprinast was effective in reducing exercise-, but not histamine-induced bronchoconstriction in adult asthmatics. However, in a similar study with asthmatic children, zaprinast was ineffective in preventing exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. Since then the clinical development of zaprinast has been discontinued.