We studied the role of Ca2+ in mediating the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced increase in endothelial permeability to 125I-labeled albumin using bovine pulmonary microvessel endothelial cells (BMVEC). Changes in cytosolic-free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) were monitored in BMVEC monolayers loaded with the Ca(2+)-sensitive membrane permeant fluorescent dye fura 2-AM. H2O2 (100 microM) produced a rise in [Ca2+]i within 10 s that was reduced by the addition of EGTA to the medium. Uptake of 45Ca2+ from the extracellular medium increased in the presence of H2O2 (100 microM) compared with control monolayers, suggesting that the H2O2-induced rise in [Ca2+]i is partly the result of extracellular Ca2+ influx. The effects of [Ca2+]i on endothelial permeability were addressed by pretreatment of BMVEC monolayers with BAPTA-AM (3-5 microM), a membrane permeant Ca2+ chelator, before the H2O2 exposure. BAPTA-AM produced an approximately 50% decrease in the H2O2-induced increase in endothelial permeability compared with endothelial cell monolayers exposed to H2O2 alone. The increase in endothelial permeability was independent of Ca2+ influx, since LaCl3 (0-100 microM), which displaces Ca2+ from binding sites on the cell surface, did not modify the permeability response. These results indicate that the rise in [Ca2+]i produced by H2O2 is a critical determinant of the increase in endothelial permeability.