Adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) metabolism was studied in the microcirculation (100- to 150-micrometers arterioles) of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) at different stages of hypertension. Mesenteric arterioles from animals 4, 6, 12, and 18 wk old were incubated in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer for 30 min at 37 degrees C, pH 7.4, with and without the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine (MIX). cAMP was assayed by radioimmunoassay. Arteriolar production of cAMP was age related in both WKY and SHR rats although the temporal patterns were different. At 6 wk (developmental stage of hypertension in SHR) cAMP accumulation in the presence or absence of MIX by SHR arterioles was higher than in the WKY before falling to normotensive levels at 12 wk. Salbutamol (a beta 2-agonist) stimulated dose-dependent increases in cAMP in both WKY and SHR at 6 wk. Stimulation of cAMP by salbutamol or by isoproterenol was blocked by propranolol. Neither agonist increased guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate. These data indicate that differences in cAMP metabolism are evident at the arteriolar level during the developmental stage of SHR hypertension. These differences may contribute to the morphological and physiological changes occurring at this time.