We examined the effects of thapsigargin on Ca2+ accumulation by the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and on electrically stimulated beats in single adult rat ventricular myocytes loaded with indo 1 and bathed in N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid buffer containing 1 mM Ca2+ at 23 degrees C. The SR Ca2+ content was assessed from the magnitude of intracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+i) transients and contractions elicited by rapid, brief applications of caffeine. After 20-30 min of exposure to 200 nM thapsigargin, the caffeine-dependent Ca2+i transients were abolished or markedly diminished (by 89 +/- 4%). The postrest potentiation of the Ca2+i transient and contraction, typical for rat myocardium, was abolished. Thapsigargin did not significantly change resting Ca2+i but diminished the amplitude of the steady-state Ca2+i transients by 73%, prolonged the time to peak by 24%, and prolonged the half-time (t1/2) of the Ca2+i transient decline by 42%. Progressive SR Ca2+ depletion by thapsigargin was strongly related (r = -0.78) to the prolongation of the t1/2 of relaxation of the steady-state Ca2+i transients, suggesting that the thapsigargin-dependent SR Ca2+ depletion results from an inhibition of the SR Ca2+ uptake. This interpretation was corroborated by comparison of the effects of thapsigargin with those of ryanodine (100 nM), which depletes SR of Ca2+ by accelerating the SR Ca2+ efflux but does not inhibit the SR Ca2+ pump. During rapid pacing (5 Hz), which raises Ca2+i and thus Ca2+ available for SR uptake, the caffeine-dependent SR Ca2+ release was restored in ryanodine-treated cells but not in the presence of thapsigargin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)