Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) inactivated glycogen synthase and activated glycogen phosphorylase in rat hepatocytes in a dose- and time-dependent manner. These effects were dependent on the presence of Ca2+ in the incubation medium. When glycogen synthase was immunoprecipitated from cells incubated with [32P]Pi and then treated with PGE2 or PGF2 alpha, there was increased phosphorylation of the 88 kDa subunit of the enzyme. This phosphorylation affected two CNBr fragments of the glycogen synthase, CB-1 and CB-2, the same fragments that are phosphorylated by different glycogenolytic hormones. No phosphorylation of glycogen synthase by prostaglandins was observed in the absence of Ca2+. Thus the effect of PGE2 and PGF2 alpha on these glycogen-metabolizing enzymes supports a role for regulation by prostaglandins of glucose metabolism in parenchymal liver cells.