Changes in the concentration of cyclic nucleotides dependent on their antibodies in plasma

In the process of immunization of rabbits with cyclic AMP or cyclic GMP, the plasma concentration of cyclic AMP or cyclic GMP was markedly elevated as the titer of the antiserum increased. The i.v. injection of anti-cyclic AMP or anti-cyclic GMP antiserum into rats or mice also caused a marked increase in the respective cyclic nucleotide in plasma. On the other hand, an injection with the antiserum did not cause any significant increase in urinary cyclic nucleotides. Therefore, the effect of the antiserum seems to be different from that of glucagon or carbamylcholine which increases cyclic AMP or cyclic GMP respectively in both plasma and urine. The injection of the antiserum, but not nephrectomy, caused a significant increase in plasma cyclic nucleotides in adrenalectomized rats. This made it unlikely that the antiserum-induced increase was due to the inhibition of urinary excretion. The plasma cyclic nucleotides, increased by an i.v. injection with the antiserum, servived enzymatic hydrolysis by phosphodiesterase in vitro; most of them proved to be bound to the antibody. It was concluded that the increases in plasma cyclic nucleotides in the process of cyclic nucleotide-immunization were mainly due to decreased metabolic clearance of plasma cyclic nucleotides.