ArticleShoemaker WJ, Balentine LT, Siggins GR, Hoffer BJ, Henriksen SJ, Bloom FE.
J Cyclic Nucleotide Res. 1975;1(2):97-106.
The transfer number for radio-labelled cyclic AMP released from microiontophoretic pipets into brain pieces was determined for a large number of samples by radioassay. Release of cyclic AMP was linearly related to both iontophoretic current intensity and time as predicted by Faraday's Law. The results revealed that cyclic AMP has a rather low transfer number. In addition, an unusually large amount of variation of release, both within and among pipets was found under a variety of times and currents. The cause of the variation is not known but could be due to the unusual structure of the cyclic AMP molecule and the fact that it must be iontophoresed as a negative ion. These characteristics of cyclic AMP release may contribute to the difficulty in obtaining positive responses from appropriate neuronal target cells in vivo.