CRHSP-28 is a Ca2؉ -regulated heat-stable phosphoprotein, abundant in the apical cytoplasm of epithelial cells that are specialized in exocrine protein secretion. To define a functional role for the protein in pancreatic secretion, recombinant CRHSP-28 (rCRHSP-28) was introduced into streptolysin-O-permeabilized acinar cells, and amylase secretion in response to elevated Ca 2؉ was determined. Secretion was enhanced markedly by rCRHSP-28 over a time course that closely corresponded with the loss of the native protein from the intracellular compartment. No effects of rCRHSP-28 were detected until ϳ50% of the native protein was lost from the cytosol. Secretion was enhanced by rCRHSP-28 over a physiological range of Ca 2؉ concentrations with 2-3-fold increases in amylase release occurring in response to low micromolar levels of free Ca 2؉ . Further, rCRHSP-28 augmented secretion in a concentration-dependent manner with minimal and maximal effects occurring at 1 and 25 g/ml, respectively. Covalent cross-linking experiments demonstrated that native CRHSP-28 was present in a 60-kDa complex in cytosolic fractions and in a high molecular mass complex in particulate fractions, consistent with the slow leak rate of the protein from streptolysin-O-permeabilized cells. Probing acinar lysates with rCRHSP-28 in a gel-overlay assay identified two CRHSP-28-binding proteins of 35 (pp35) and 70 kDa (pp70). Interestingly, preparation of lysates in the presence of 1 mM Ca 2؉ resulted in a marked redistribution of both proteins from a cytosolic to a Triton X-100-insoluble fraction, suggesting a Ca 2؉ -sensitive interaction of these proteins with the acinar cell cytoskeleton. In agreement with our previous study immunohistochemically localizing CRHSP-28 around secretory granules in acinar cells, gel-overlay analysis revealed pp70 copurified with acinar cell secretory granule membranes. These findings demonstrate an important cell physiological function for CRHSP-28 in the Ca 2؉ -regulated secretory pathway of acinar cells.Exocrine cells specializing in protein secretion release a variety of factors necessary for normal function of the digestive, urogenital, respiratory, and ocular systems. Activation of these epithelia by neural and humoral agents stimulates the exocytosis of secretory granules at the apical plasma membrane in a process that is largely controlled by cellular Ca 2ϩ . In pancreatic acinar cells, Ca 2ϩ release is initiated in the apical pole and then propagates through the cell periphery to the basal cytoplasm. The cyclic reuptake and release of Ca 2ϩ from intracellular stores create an oscillatory mode of signaling with spatial and temporal characteristics that are unique to the specific type and concentration of physiologic stimulus (for review, see Refs. 1-3). Although the high concentrations of Ca 2ϩ generated in the apical cytoplasm are necessary for secretory granule trafficking and exocytosis to occur, a comprehensive understanding of the molecular events elicited by this ion is lacking.The secretory pathway in ac...