The effect of p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane on levels of guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate and adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate in two species of insects.

Within 1 h after topical application of a convulsive dose (4 mug per fly, 47 mg/kg) of p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) to the adult male of Sarcophaga bullata Parker, guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic GMP) levels rose by 71.5% (P less than 0.05) in the head, 159.5% (P less than 0.01) in the thorax, and 23.4% (P greater than 0.05) in the abdomen compared to controls. Adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP) levels were not significantly affected by the DDT treatment. A convulsive dose (100 mug per larva, 250 mg/kg) of DDT applied to larvae of Mamestra configurata Wlk. caused the whole body level of cyclic GMP to rise by 81.6% (P less than 0.01) after 1 h, and by 95.9% (P less than 0.01) after 3 h. Levels of cyclic AMP were not affected. A hypothesis is advanced suggesting that an abnormally high rate of discharge of acetylcholine (and in the later stages of poisoning, its actual accumulation) at central cholinergic synapses causes cyclic GMP levels to rise, perhaps in post-synaptic cells. The elevated cyclic GMP-cyclic AMP ratio found in DDT-poisoned insects may be of fundamental importance in the complex sequence of events leading to tremor, hyperexcitability, paralysis, and death.