Cyclic 3'5'-adeniylic acid (3'5'-AM1P) has been found1-4 in relatively high coIlceIltrttion in urine, but the physiological significance of this observation has not been completely elucidated. One report' indicated that the pituitary is not an important influence on the urinary excretion of cyclic adenylate in rats, and another4 showed that in man excretion of the cyclic nucleotide is stimulated by injection of vasopressin and suppressed when secretion of this neurohypophyseal hormone is inhibited.We have found that physiological amounts of parathyroid hormone cause a striking increase in urinary excretion of 3'5'-A1\IP through a direct action of the hormonal polypeptide on the kidney; this effect appears to be the earliest manifestation of the action of the hormone in vivo. These observations, outlined in this report, imply that the rate of secretion of parathyroid hormone is a major physiological factor affecting urinary 3'5'-AMP and suggest the possibility that cyclic adenylate is involved in the mechanism of action of the hormone.Materials and Methods.-Cyclic 3'5'-AMP-H' (1000 mc/mmole) was obtained from Schwarz Bioltesearch; 3'5'-AMP-C"4 (22 mc/mmole) was purchased from New England Nuclear Corp. Carrier-free purified radiophosphate was the product of Tracerlab Corp. Other reagents used, including the tricyclohexyl-ammonium salts of phosphoenolpyruvate and 3-phosphoglycerate, were the best grade available from standard suppliers. Stock crystalline preparations of pyruvate kinase, 310 U/mg; phosphoglycerate kinase, 250 U/mg; muscle glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, 40 U/mg; and myokiisase, 360 U/mg, were dialyzed against 4000 ml of 10-3 M Tris-ethylenediaminetetraacetate (Tris-EDTA), pH 7.5, quick-frozen (acetone-solid CO2 bath) in small portions, and stored at -200. Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase from bovine heart was purified according to Butcher and Sutherland1 and stored in small aliquots frozen in liquid nitrogen; 1 ,.l of the enzyme solution catalyzed the conversion of 29.6 nmoles of 10-3 M cyclic adenylate to 5'-AMIP in 30 min at 30°in 1 ml at pH 7.5. Pure bovine parathyroid hormone (PTH), 2000-3000 USP U/mg, was prepared as described previously.5 Chromatographically purified corticotropin was the product of Sigma Chemical Co. Purified thyrocalcitonin was a gift of Dr. Paul Munson, and arginine vasopressin was the gift of Dr. Martin Petersen. Glucagon was purchased from Eli Lilly Co.Male or female Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 140-200 gm were allowed free access to water and standard laboratory chow until the beginning of the experiment. The animals, conscious throughout the tests, were held in restraining cages and given intravenous fluid pumped at a constants rate, usually 5 ml per hour, through a catheter in the external jugular vein or a needle in a tail vein. Infusion at this rate was begun 12-16 hr before the experimental tests and could be continued for longer than 48 hr without causing edema, gain in weight, or changes in the electrolytes of the serum. The fluid given contained 4% gl...