1 The effect of the Cl À channel blockers niflumic acid (NFA), 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoic acid (NPPB), 4,4 0 -diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2 0 -disulfonic acid (DIDS), and anthracene-9-carboxylic acid (A-9-C), on Ca 2 þ signalling in rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells was examined. Intracellular Ca 2 þ concentration ([Ca 2 þ ] i ) was monitored with either fura-2 or fluo-4, and caffeine was used to activate the ryanodine receptor, thereby releasing Ca 2 þ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). 2 NFA and NPPB significantly increased basal [Ca 2 þ ] i and attenuated the caffeine-induced increase in [Ca 2 þ ] i . These Cl À channel blockers also increased the half-time (t 1/2 ) to peak for the caffeineinduced [Ca 2 þ ] i transient, and slowed the removal of Ca 2 þ from the cytosol following application of caffeine. Since DIDS and A-9-C were found to adversely affect fura-2 fluorescence, fluo-4 was used to monitor intracellular Ca 2 þ in studies involving these Cl À channel blockers. Both DIDS and A-9-C increased basal fluo-4 fluorescence, indicating an increase in intracellular Ca 2 þ , and while DIDS had no significant effect on the t 1/2 to peak for the caffeine-induced Ca 2 þ transient, it was significantly increased by A-9-C. 3 In the absence of extracellular Ca 2 þ , NFA significantly increased basal [Ca 2 þ ] i , suggesting that the release of Ca 2 þ from an intracellular store was responsible for the observed effect. 4 Depleting the SR with the combination of caffeine and cyclopiazonic acid prevented the increase in basal [Ca 2 þ ] i induced by NFA. Additionally, incubating the cells with ryanodine also prevented the increase in basal [Ca 2 þ ] i induced by NFA. 5 These data show that Cl À channel blockers have marked effects on Ca 2 þ signalling in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. Furthermore, examination of the NFA-induced increase in [Ca 2 þ ] i indicates that it is likely due to Ca 2 þ release from an intracellular store, most probably the SR.