Smooth muscle cell-like mesangial cells play an important role in the regulation of glomerular blood flow and are involved in renal inflammatory reactions, thereby interacting with circulating cells. The platelet products serotonin (5-HT) and ATP induce similar, e.g. mitogenic, effects in mesangial cells, but differentially activate and induce inflammation-related genes. To get an insight into intracellular signaling steps, a very early step in the signaling cascade, the biphasic Ca2+ signal elicited by 5-HT and ATP in rat mesangial cells was investigated. Both phases of the Ca2+ signal, release from internal stores as well as influx of extracellular Ca2+, were dependent on phospholipase C activation as shown by the specific inhibitor U73122 (complete inhibition at 10 microM U73122). There was no evidence for voltage-gated L-type channels in these cells, suggesting that Ca2+ influx was mediated by Ca2+ release-activated channels. The L-type channel blocker verapamil, however, dose-dependently (0.1-10 microM) and specifically inhibited 5-HT-elicited Ca2+ signals by interference with binding of 5-HT to 5-HT2A receptors. 5-HT-mediated Ca2+ release was reduced by 80% when protein kinase C was activated by the phorbolester TPA (0.1 microM). Interaction of 5-HT2A receptors with phospholipase C was also inhibited by genistein (30% at 5 microM; 100% at 50 microM), an inhibitor of tyrosine kinases. Binding of 5-HT to its receptor reduced subsequent ATP-mediated Ca2+ signaling. The cross talk between the receptors was sensitive to genistein. ATP-mediated Ca2+ signaling was attributed to different types of P2y receptors and/or multiple G-proteins coupled, because the signal was partially inhibited by pertussis toxin (50%). In accordance, modulation of the ATP-mediated signaling by phosphorylation was less tightly controlled than 5-HT-mediated Ca2+ release. These data indicate that although the Ca2+ responses elicited by the two stimuli are comparable, interactions between receptors, G-proteins and target enzymes are regulated differentially.