Adenylyl cyclase (AC) types 5 and 6 (AC5 and AC6) are the two major AC isoforms expressed in the mammalian heart that mediate signals from -adrenergic receptor stimulation. Because of the unavailability of isoform-specific antibodies, it is difficult to ascertain the expression levels of AC5 protein in the heart. Here we demonstrated the successful generation of an AC5 isoform-specific mouse monoclonal antibody and studied the expression of AC5 protein during cardiac development in different mammalian species. The specificity of the antibody was confirmed using heart and brain tissues from AC5 knockout mice and from transgenic mice overexpressing AC5. In mice, the AC5 protein was highest in the brain but was also detectable in all organs studied, including the heart, brain, lung, liver, stomach, kidney, skeletal muscle, and vascular tissues. Western blot analysis showed that AC5 was most abundant in the neonatal heart and declined to basal levels in the adult heart. AC5 protein increased in the heart with pressure-overload left ventricular hypertrophy. Thus this new AC5 antibody demonstrated that this AC isoform behaves similarly to fetal type genes, such as atrial natriuretic peptide; i.e., it declines with development and increases with pressureoverload hypertrophy. adenylyl cyclase isoforms; monoclonal antibody; pressure overload; hypertrophy ADENYLYL CYCLASE (AC) is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of ATP to cAMP. The complexity in understanding the signaling pathway of cAMP can be attributed, in part, to 10 isoforms of AC: nine membrane bound and one soluble, which have been cloned and characterized in mammals (4,6,9,10,29). Each of these membrane-bound isoforms consists of two hydrophobic domains (with 6 transmembrane spans) and two cytoplasmic domains. The cytoplasmic domains constitute the catalytic site, which is subject to intracellular regulation (6). The AC isoforms have high amino acid homology in their cytoplasmic domains but differ in the sequence of the transmembrane region. The specificity of tissue distribution, the functional properties, and the chromosomal location of the corresponding genes also differentiate these isoforms (4, 10, 12). The major AC isoforms expressed in the heart are type 5 (AC5) and type 6 (AC6) (7,11,30). Tissue distribution and developmental expression of AC5 and AC6 mRNA have been previously studied in rats, chicks, and humans (7,30,31). However, in the absence of an AC5-specific antibody, it has not been possible to determine the levels of protein expression. It is very important to study the differential regulation of AC5 and AC6 in the heart since AC5 and AC6 behave differently in the pathogenesis of heart failure. We demonstrated that the AC5 knockout (KO) mouse model lives longer and is resistant to stress (32), including chronic pressure overload (21) and chronic catecholamine (22) stress. However, studies by others have suggested that the overexpression of AC6 is beneficial and might be considered for heart failure therapy (23). In addition, based on mRNA...