Cyclic AMP and its functional relationship in Tetrahymena: a comparison between phagocytosis and glucose uptake.

In Tetrahymena, an increase in the level of cAMP is accompanied by an increased phagocytotic rate, whereas increased sugar uptake is parallelled by a decreased cAMP level. The increase in cAMP level seems to be decisive with respect to phagocytosis as a basic phenomenon of life. In the action of epinephrine, however, some mechanism other than cAMP mediation may be involved. Depending on concentration, one hormone may provoke either an increase or a decrease in cAMP level, and this in turn triggers the corresponding function.