Dispersed rat pancreatic acini were incubated in 0.5mM calcium medium with increasing concentrations of carbamylcholine, with or without the ionophore A23187 (10(-6)M). Addition of the ionophore reduced maximal amylase release, increased the maximal effective concentration of carbamylcholine and dramatically impaired the agonist's capacity to induce enzyme secretion at low concentration. The ionophore also abolished the inhibition of secretion observed at high carbamylcholine concentrations. These effects of the ionophore on the cholinergic secretory response cannot be explained by interaction at the muscarinic receptor since neither the Bmax, the affinity of the receptor for the [3H]QNB nor the binding of carbamylcholine were affected by the ionophore. It is suggested that for the conditions studied, the ionophore can interact with the secretory process at one or several points ulterior to the initial recognition site of carbamylcholine on its receptor.