In the complex microcosm of a cell, information security and its faithful 
transmission are critical for maintaining internal stability. To achieve a 
coordinated response of all its parts to any stimulus the cell must protect the 
information received from potentially confounding signals. Physical segregation 
of the information transmission chain ensures that only the entities able to 
perform the encoded task have access to the relevant information. The cAMP 
intracellular signaling pathway is an important system for signal transmission 
responsible for the ancestral 'flight or fight' response and involved in the 
control of critical functions including frequency and strength of heart 
contraction, energy metabolism and gene transcription. It is becoming 
increasingly apparent that the cAMP signaling pathway uses compartmentalization 
as a strategy for coordinating the large number of key cellular functions under 
its control. Spatial confinement allows the formation of cAMP signaling "hot 
spots" at discrete subcellular domains in response to specific stimuli, bringing 
the information in proximity to the relevant effectors and their recipients, 
thus achieving specificity of action. In this report we discuss how the 
different constituents of the cAMP pathway are targeted and participate in the 
formation of cAMP compartmentalized signaling events. We illustrate a few 
examples of localized cAMP signaling, with a particular focus on the nucleus, 
the sarcoplasmic reticulum and the mitochondria. Finally, we discuss the 
therapeutic potential of interventions designed to perturb specific cAMP 
cascades locally.