The activity of the beta adrenoceptor antagonist tertatolol on renal vasoconstrictions was investigated. Infusion of increasing concentrations of tertatolol (10(-8) to 10(-5) M) progressively inhibited the constrictor responses to bolus injections of norepinephrine and to electrical stimulation in isolated perfused kidneys of both normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats. Also, in kidneys of normotensive rats the vasoconstrictions caused by serotonin and barium chloride were inhibited by tertatolol. During sustained vasoconstrictions induced by infusion of norepinephrine (6 X 10(-7) M) increasing doses of tertatolol (2.5 X 10(-7) g to 2 X 10(-5) g) caused rapid, reversible dilatations in the rat kidneys. The inhibitory responses caused by tertatolol were not antagonized by propranolol, atropine, hexamethonium, SCH23390, metoclopramide, mepyramine, cimetidine, naloxone, cocaine or indomethacin. During constrictions caused by norepinephrine, methylene blue significantly inhibited the renal vasodilatations caused by tertatolol, acetylcholine, papaverine and nitroglycerin but not those caused by atrial natriuretic factor. Unlike the other vasodilators, tertatolol did not inhibit the constrictions induced by prostaglandin F2 alpha (5 X 10(-6) M) in the rat kidneys. In canine renal arteries with endothelium, tertatolol (10(-9) to 10(-5) M) did not cause relaxations during contractions induced by norepinephrine, electrical stimulation or prostaglandin F2 alpha. Our data illustrate that tertatolol has potent vasodilator properties in the isolated perfused vasoconstricted rat kidney. The dilator response to the beta blocker cannot be inhibited by a variety of classical receptor blockers but ultimately seems to depend on the formation of cyclic GMP.