The effect of cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cAMP) upon the synthesis and release of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was studied in the human pancreatic ductal cancer cell line, SW-1990. Incubation for up to 24 h with forskolin, an activator of adenylate cyclase, or isobutylmethyl xanthine, a theophylline analog, increased cellular cAMP levels by over 100-fold and significantly increased CEA release and cellular CEA content. Whereas cAMP levels were augmented within 10 min of exposure to these agents, CEA release and CEA cell content were not increased until 90 min and 24 h, respectively. Similar results were obtained using dibutyryl-cAMP, a cAMP analog, but not using sodium butyrate, a metabolite of dibutyryl-cAMP. Cells were incubated with 35S-cysteine and 3H-glucosamine in the presence or absence of forskolin in order to compare the effects of high cAMP levels upon the synthesis and release of total proteins, total glycoproteins, and immunoprecipitable CEA. Both CEA synthesis and release were enhanced by forskolin, but these effects were not specific to CEA since the release of labeled proteins and glycoproteins also increased. In addition, altered CEA expression caused by forskolin was consistently associated with a cessation of cell division, an effect which was reversible upon removing the agent. There was no effect upon cell morphology or viability. The data indicate that increased levels of cellular cAMP in pancreatic cancer cells is associated with decreased cell proliferation and increased expression of CEA and other glycoproteins.