Mammalian myocardial contractility is believed to be related to the amount of calcium contained in a highly labile superficial calcium pool. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of such sites in the positive inotropic effect of isoproterenol. Lanthanum, an ion that is restricted to the extracellular space and that displaces the superficially bound calcium, was selected as a tool for this investigation. In Langendorff preparations of the guinea pig heart, lanthanum decreased the basal contractility index (+dP/dtmax) in a concentration-dependent fashion (0.05-3 microM) and blocked the inotropic response of isoproterenol in a noncompetitive manner (0.25-3 microM). Three-micromolar lanthanum (i) reduced basal contractility and the maximum response to isoproterenol by 97 and 95%, respectively, (ii) had no significant effect (p greater than 0.05) on basal and isoproterenol-induced cyclic AMP levels, and (iii) had no effect on the Kd of [3H]nitrendipine binding, but reduced the Bmax by 31%. While 1 microM lanthanum reduced basal contractility and the maximum response to isoproterenol by 90 and 70%, respectively, it had no effect on [3H]nitrendipine binding. These results suggest that the effects of such low concentrations of lanthanum (less than or equal to 3 microM) are not related to a direct action on the calcium channels and are not mediated by an inhibition of isoproterenol stimulation of the enzyme adenylate cyclase. Therefore, one interpretation of these results suggests that superficially bound calcium is required for the inotropic response of isoproterenol.