The past eighteen months have provided much progress in the cyclic nucleoti
de phosphodiesterase (PDE) field. Six new phosphodiesterase genes have been
discovered and characterized. In addition, several new highly specific PDE
inhibitors have been developed and approved for clinical use. Finally, new
strategies have been employed to determine PDE function in model systems i
ncluding the use of antisense oligonucleotide and disruption techniques.