ATPase and calcium binding activities were studied in sarcolemmal membranes from hearts of male rats fed either a control or 2% cholesterol diet for different time periods. Studies with isolated membrane revealed a significant increase in Na+-K+ ATPase activity, sialic acid content and ATP-independent calcium binding capacity in the presence of 1.25 mM CaCl2 in the 6 week cholesterol fed group. By 12 weeks, Na+-K+ ATPase, Mg2+-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase activities as well as ATP-independent calcium binding in the presence of 0.05 mM CaCl2 were increased in membranes from cholesterol fed rats. A significant increase (P less than 0.05) in the sarcolemmal cholesterol/phospholipid molar ratio, which is an indicator of a decrease in membrane fluidity, was also noted in the 12 week cholesterol fed group. Concanavalin A, which is believed to decrease membrane fluidity, stimulated both Mg2+ and Ca2+-dependent ATPase activities and increased ATP-independent calcium binding in control sarcolemmal preparations and these changes resembled those observed in the sarcolemma from cholesterol fed rats. Since concanavalin A did not alter the activity of Na+-K+ ATPase, it appears that some of the observed differences in sarcolemmal activities upon cholesterol feeding did not correlate well with changes in membrane order. At 24 weeks, there was a generalized depression in the sarcolemmal ATPase activities of the cholesterol group; both Mg2+ ATPase and Ca2+ ATPase were significantly less than in control.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)