Cyclic AMP stabilizes a class of developmentally regulated Dictyostelium discoideum mRNAs.

The stability of mRNA is an important facet of the regulation of protein synthesis. In mammalian cells most mRNAs have long half-lives (5-15 hours) but a substantial fraction are much less stable. There are few examples where the stability of a particular mRNA or class of mRNAs is specifically affected by environmental or developmental stimuli. Certain hormones cause specific stabilization of mRNAs species and preferential mRNA stability is important in the accumulation of globin and myosin mRNAs during the terminal stages of erythropoesis or myogenesis, respectively. Disaggregation of Dictyostelium discoideum aggregates induces the specific destabilization of a large class of developmentally regulated mRNAs; thus, this system is an excellent one in which to determine how such controls are effected. Here we show that addition of cyclic AMP to disaggregated cells specifically prevents the destabilization of these mRNAs.