Migration of rabbit peritoneal neutrophils was stimulated by endothelin-1 (ET-1) up to 2.10(-8) M. Higher concentrations inhibited random migration. The stimulating effect of ET-1 was inhibited by BQ-123, a specific antagonist of the ETA receptor. A checkerboard assay showed that the stimulating effect of ET-1 on neutrophil migration was chemokinetic rather than chemotactic. Extracellular Ca2+ was required for the activating effect of ET-1. Non-selective calcium channel blockers such as econazole and La3+ strongly inhibited ET-1-activated migration but had little effect on fMLP-activated migration, underlining the importance of Ca2+ influx for ET-1-activated migration. Studies with electroporated neutrophils showed that the increase in migration was most pronounced at calcium concentrations between 100 nM and 1 microM. ET-1-activated migration of electroporated cells was completely blocked by low concentrations of calcium-channel blockers such as verapamil and nitrendipine. Migration by intact cells was inhibited by the same concentration of verapamil, but to a lesser degree; nitrendipine had little effect on migration of intact cells. This suggests that calcium derived from intracellular stores is required for migration activated by ET-1. Protein kinase C, protein tyrosine kinase, and phosphatase activity were involved in the activating effect of ET-1 on neutrophil migration. ET-1 did not induce exocytotic enzyme release, in neither the presence nor the absence of cytochalasin B.