A study was carried out to investigate the short-circuit current (Isc) response to noradrenaline (NA) and the signal transduction mechanisms involved in cultured rat cauda epididymal epithelium. In normal Krebs-Henseleit solution, NA (10 mumol.l-1) added basolaterally elicited a biphasic Isc response consisting of a transient spike followed by a second sustained response. The biphasic response was almost abolished by removing ambient Cl-. Preloading the tissues with a cell-permeant Ca2+ chelator, 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy) ethane-N,N,N',N',-tetraacetic acid acetoxymethyl ester (BAPTA/AM), or pretreating them with thapsigargin (Tg), a microsomal adenosine triphosphatase inhibitor abolished the initial spike in the Isc response to NA, but had little effect on the second component. Pretreating the tissues with a non-selective beta-antagonist, nadolol, reduced the second Isc response in a dose-dependent fashion but the initial spike was not affected. Microfluorimetric studies showed that NA (100 mumol.l-1) elicited single Ca2+ spikes in isolated epididymal cells, which could be abolished by prior treatment with Tg. Biochemical assays showed that NA (10 mumol.l-1) increased intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate concentration ([cAMP]i) and the response was abolished by prior treatment with nadolol (50 mumol.l-1). The results showed that NA elicited a biphasic Isc response mediated by a rise in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) followed by a rise in [cAMP]i. The Ca(2+)-mediated Isc response had a faster onset and more transient action than the cAMP counterpart. It is suggested that NA released from noradrenergic nerve endings regulates transepithelial Cl- secretion in the epididymis thereby providing the specialized millieu vital for sperm storage and maturation.