Hormone Action and the Levels of Cyclic AMP and Prostaglandins in the Toad Bladder

THERE is overwhelming evidence to connect cyclic 3′,5′-adenos-ine monophosphate (cyclic AMP) with hormone action in various tissues¹. For example, the toad bladder responds to neurohypophyseal hormones (ADH) with an increase in water permeability² and with an increase in the mucosal to serosal transport of sodium³. ADH also causes an increase in cyclic AMP levels in the tissue⁴ and the actions of the hormone can be mimicked by addition of the cyclic nucleotide^2,5. Orloff and Handler⁵ have suggested that cyclic AMP directly affects the permeability of the mucosal face of the epithelial cells to water and to sodium and that there are two separate adenyl cyclase systems responsible for controlling the permeability to water and to sodium^6,7.