Exposure of rat epididymal fat pad to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (TPA), an activator of protein kinase C, results in an 85% increase in isoproterenol-stimulated cyclic AMP (cAMP) accumulation, an effect which was antagonized by H7, a protein kinase C inhibitor. This promoting action of TPA appears to be related to (i) an increase in the catalytic activity of adenylate cyclase, (ii) an increase in the maximal response of adenylate cyclase to fluoride and guanylimidodiphosphate (GppNHp) with no change in the EC50 value for GppNHp, and (iii) a reduction of the isoproterenol-stimulated low-Km cAMP phosphodiesterase activity present in the 30,000 g pellet of fat pad homogenates. In contrast with fat pads, exposure of isolated rat fat cells to TPA failed to influence their adenylate cyclase response to GppNHp and their cAMP accumulation and lipolysis. However, the other alterations caused by TPA in fat pads were still observed in fat cells. These results suggest that (i) the major alteration responsible for the promoted isoproterenol-stimulated cAMP response observed in fat pads after exposure to TPA is an increased interaction between the alpha s subunit of Gs and the catalytic site of adenylate cyclase and (ii) this increased interaction is dependent on protein kinase C activation and is abolished by collagenase digestion.