Necturus gallbladder epithelium (NGE) expresses a CFTR-like apical Cl- conductance that can be activated by cAMP. Here, we show that extracellular ATP (100 microM), which is known to elevate intracellular Ca2+ and to hyperpolarize cells by stimulating apical and basolateral K+ conductances, also stimulates an apical Cl- conductance (Ga,Cl), however with a much slower time course. The selectivity sequence of Ga,Cl was SCN- > I- > NO3- > Br- > Cl- >> isethionate (ISE-), but SCN- and I- partially blocked it, which is analogous to observations of CFTR Cl- channels. To disclose a possible role for intracellular Ca2+, gallbladders were incubated with the Ca2+ chelator BAPTA/AM or bathed in solutions containing only submicromolar Ca2+ concentrations. BAPTA partially inhibited the Ca(2+)-mediated hyperpolarization, but did not reduce the ATP-dependent activation of Ga,Cl and the latter was also seen in low extracellular Ca2+. On the other hand, the cAMP-antagonist Rp-8-Br-cAMPS strongly inhibited the stimulation of Ga,Cl by ATP (as well as by forskolin), but left the ATP-induced hyperpolarization unchanged. Preincubation with a low concentration of forskolin markedly enhanced the stimulatory effect of ATP, and this effect was not modified by the selective inhibition of protein kinase C. These data suggest the involvement of different signal transduction pathways in the ATP-dependent activation of K+ and Cl- conductances in NGE. The stimulation of the Ga,Cl appears to be mediated by cAMP but not by elevation of intracellular Ca2+.