Use of phenylthiocarbamide for assessing cAMP-dependent resistance to anoxia in animals.

The responses of cats with different levels of taste sensitivity to phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) bitters to five-minute hypoxia were studied; PTC sensitivity is a genetic marker of the activity of the cAMP system. Animals able to perceive PTC showed a number of functional differences, with higher levels of resistance to anoxia, than those which could not perceive PTC. The groups showed significant differences in the basal cAMP content in the cerebral cortex, and in the time course of changes in the cAMP level during anoxia and subsequent reoxygenation. It is suggested that these differences result from genetically determined features of the cAMP system, which is involved in forming adaptive responses.