The purpose of the present study was to quantify the in vivo potency of the selective adenosine A2a antagonist CSC [8-(3-chlorostyryl)caffeine]. Four groups of conscious, normotensive rats received a continuous i.v. infusion of 0, 6, 12 and 24 micrograms/min/kg of CSC. During a steady-state infusion of CSC, the animals received 1000 micrograms/kg of the adenosine A2a receptor agonist CGS 21680C [the sodium salt of 2-p-(2-carboxyethyl) phenylethylamino-5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine] i.v. over 15 min. During the experiment, the mean arterial pressure and the heart rate were recorded continuously and arterial blood samples were taken for the analysis of drug concentrations. For each individual rat, the CGS 21680C-provoked reduction in blood pressure was related to the blood concentration of the agonist according to the sigmoidal Emax model. The presence of CSC produced a parallel shift of the concentration-hypotensive effect curve to the right, indicating competitive interaction of the compounds. Infusion of 0, 6, 12 and 24 micrograms/min/kg of CSC resulted in steady-state concentrations of 0, 85 +/- 7, 210 +/- 20 and 400 +/- 40 ng/ml, and apparent EC50 values of CGS 21680C based on free concentrations (EC50,u) of 4.8 +/- 1.1, 7.2 +/- 0.5, 32 +/- 6 and 57 +/- 10 ng/ml, respectively (mean +/- S.E., n = 6, 6, 5 and 6). The relationship between the CSC concentration and the apparent EC50 was quantified according to a competitive pharmacodynamic interaction model.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)