It has been shown that cAMP may perturb the polypeptide growth factor-induced nuclear events. However, the possible interactions of the cAMP-protein kinase A (cAMP-PKA) and receptor tyrosine kinase pathways in the cytosol have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we use human astrocytoma cells as a model to investigate this issue. The results show that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced receptor autophosphorylation in human astrocytoma cells is suppressed by dibutyryl-cAMP pretreatment and such suppression is not due to changes in the ligand-receptor binding properties. Further studies show that PDGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of phospholipase C-gamma 1 (PLC-gamma 1) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) are also suppressed in dibutyryl-cAMP-pretreated cells. The suppression of PLC-gamma 1 tyrosine phosphorylation was accompanied by a decreased production of water soluble inositol phosphates. In contrast, similar treatment with normal human astrocytes potentiates the tyrosine phosphorylation of PLC-gamma 1 and PI 3-kinase. The results indicate that cAMP can either negatively or positively modulate the PDGF receptor tyrosine kinase activity depending on the cell types examined.