Temperature effects on cyclic AMP accumulation in cultured fibroblasts.

The kinetic parameters that determine the accumulation of cAMP in WI-38 cells stimulated with prostaglandin E1 have been determined at 37 degrees C and at lower temperatures. For desensitized cells, a reduction of temperatures from 37 degrees to 25 degrees C reduced both rate of synthesis and rate of elimination of cAMP by about 40%. The steady-state accumulation was, therefore, about the same at both temperatures. The extent of desensitization was also shown to be comparable at the two temperatures. It can be inferred that there was appreciable desensitization at 4 degrees C after a period of stimulation of less than one hour. This is contrasted with the behavior of C6-2B glioma cells at the same temperature. Escape of cAMP through the plasma membrane showed a greater temperature dependence than any of the other processes concerned with cAMP accumulation.