The effects of polyamines were investigated in strips of smooth muscle from guinea pig ileum permeabilized with beta-escin (0.005%). Spermine (1 mM) inhibited transient contractions induced in Ca(2+)-free medium by carbachol (0.1 mM) and GTP gamma S (0.1 mM) but potentiated responses to caffeine (20 mM) and D-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (40 microM). At high ethylene glycol-bis(beta-amino-ethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid concentration (10 mM) and in the presence of A-23187 (10 microM), force at optimal and suboptimal Ca2+ concentrations was increased both by spermine and by carbachol. Spermine did not potentiate contraction in Ca(2+)-free medium or after full thiophosphorylation of the regulatory 20-kDa myosin light chains but slightly potentiated contractions produced by partial thiophosphorylation. Also, spermidine and putrescine, as well as the aminoglycoside antibiotic neomycin, increased sensitivity to Ca2+, with potency correlating with number of positive charges. After permeabilization by a high concentration (0.1%) of beta-escin, the sensitivity to Ca2+ was increased by spermine but not by GTP gamma S. In preparations permeabilized by Triton X-100, spermine slightly increased Ca2+ sensitivity but not maximal force. Tissue contents of putrescine, spermidine, and spermine in intact ileum muscle were 8, 98, and 184 nmol/g, respectively. Permeabilization by 0.005 and 0.1% beta-escin reduced spermine contents by 40 and 53%, respectively. Effects of added polyamines in permeabilized preparations may thus reflect physiological effects of endogenous polyamines modulating contraction in the intact tissue.