The effects of autologous serum on basal and isoproterenol (IPR) or prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) stimulated adenosine 3',5' cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) levels were investigated in human lymphocytes. For all blood donors, serum (25% (v/v)) lowered the basal cAMP content. In contrast, the responsiveness of the lymphocyte cAMP accumulation to (-)-IPR was increased. This effect was most clearly demonstrable in bicarbonate buffered incubation medium (40-50% increase of maximal response), but was also seen in phosphate buffered medium (10-20% increase). Serum did not alter the sensitivity of the lymphocytes to IPR. The response to PGE1, which was a considerable more effective stimulator of cAMP accumulation than IPR, was not affected in any consistent way by serum. The results indicate that serum influences the regulation of lymphocyte cAMP and that this effect may partly be exerted at the level of the beta-adrenoceptors.