We compared the concentration dependence of insulin- and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF I)-stimulated Na+ transport with ligand-receptor affinities in the urinary bladder of the toad Bufo marinus. Threshold, half-maximal, and maximal natriferic concentrations of both peptides were approximately 0.1, 1, and 10 nM, respectively. Amiloride, but not ethyl isopropyl amiloride, (10(-5) M), abolished Na+ transport. Maximal responses to either peptide rendered the tissue insensitive to challenge with the other. Separate insulin and IGF I receptors were identified by equilibrium binding and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of cross-linked ligand-receptor complexes. For both peptides, half-maximal binding occurred at 3-10 nM; crossover binding to the other receptor occurred with 10- and 100-fold lower affinity. Thus, in this model "high-resistance" renal epithelium, 1) ligand binding to specific insulin and IGF I receptors stimulates transcellular Na+ flux, 2) the natriferic effects of insulin and IGF I apparently depend on activation of apical Na+ channels rather than Na+-H+ antiporters, and 3) the natriferic pathways activated by insulin and IGF I appear to converge subsequent to ligand-receptor binding but before the final transport ("effector") step(s).