Adenosine, AMP, cyclic AMP, theophylline and the action and production of erythropoietin.

Erythropoiesis, as measured by the uptake of 59Fe into plethoric mice, is stimulated by adenosine, AMP, cyclic AMP, and dibutyryl cyclic AMP, but not by cytidine, its nucleotides or cyclic GMP. This stimulation is erythropoietin dependent, because it is prevented by anti-erythropoietin. Theophylline neither stimulates erythropoiesis nor potentiates the action of erythropoietin on bone marrow cells in plethoric mice. Theophylline does potentiate the production of erythropoietin in rats following a frief hypoxic exposure but does not cause a similar increase in mice.