The acute effects of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate [(TPA) CAS: 56937-68-9], T-2 toxin (CAS: 21259-20-1), capsaicin (CAS: 404-86-4), cigarette smoke condensate (CSC), and ethanol (CAS: 3807-77-0) were examined in secondary cultured human esophageal epithelial cells in serum-free LHC-8 medium. Effects were evaluated by morphology and measurement of clonal growth rate (population doublings per day), cross-linked envelope (CLE) formation, and the enzymatic activities of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and plasminogen activator (PA). All compounds tested were inhibitory to clonal growth; concentrations causing 50% growth inhibition were estimated as 10 nM TPA, 6 nM T-2 toxin, 40 microM capsaicin, 8 micrograms CSC/ml, 540 mM ethanol, and 0.8 microgram CSC/ml with 220 mM ethanol. None of the compounds tested induced CLE formation, although calcium ionophore (A23187) could induce CLE in at least 60% of the cells. TPA (10 and 100 nM) decreased the ODC activity of cells, and capsaicin (100 microM) induced ODC by 220%. TPA (1-100 nM) and capsaicin (100 microM) also induced PA activity. Slight increases in ODC activity by CSC (10 micrograms/ml), CSC (1 microgram/ml) with ethanol, and T-2 toxin (1 nM) were observed, but PA activity was not affected by these compounds. The results indicated that the response of human esophageal epithelial cells to TPA is both similar to and different from that reported for human epidermal and bronchial cells in vitro. Enhancement of PA activity and decrease in ODC by TPA are found in all three human epithelial cell types. However, these changes are not associated in esophageal cells with increased CLE formation as reported in studies with the use of bronchial and epidermal epithelial cells. The results from these acute studies provide the basis for designing in vitro carcinogenesis investigations using these agents.