Previous studies of embryonic rat skeletal muscle cultures suggested that there was a correlation between intracellular adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) concentration and activities of enzymes of oxidative energy metabolism. We investigated the ability of agents that elevate intracellular cAMP by three different mechanisms (activation of adenylate cyclase, inhibition of phosphodiesterase, and analogues) to alter not only the activities of 11 glycolytic and mitochondrial enzymes but also the rate of flux through aerobic glucose oxidation in intact myotubes derived from regenerating rat muscle satellite cells. The enzyme activities were not consistently altered when cAMP was elevated, with the exception of the electron transport enzyme, NADH cytochrome c reductase, whose activity was elevated by exposure of the myotubes to cholera toxin (110% of control), 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (112%), caffeine (119%), and 8-bromoadenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (120%). The rate of flux of aerobic glucose oxidation was elevated by all agents (116-157% of control) except cholera toxin. This study allowed us to compare the metabolic characteristics of myotube cultures derived from satellite cells with those from embryonic muscle, from a previous study. Despite differences between these two models, together, the data present strong evidence that an increase in intracellular cAMP can cause an increase in oxidative capacity.