Consequences of hormone-induced desensitization of adenylate cyclase in intact cells

Abstract
A hypothesis on the role of the hormone-induced desensitization of adenylate cyclase using human lung WI-38 cells as a model is proposed. The desensitization process could provide the cell with a highly efficient cyclic[c]AMP system for transmitting hormone stimulus without requiring a large energy consumption. Theoretical considerations show that in fact the desensitization phenomenon apparently allows the cAMP system to present a good compromise between the efficiency and economy requirements of the cells.