Reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) have been implicated in a variety of pathophysiological conditions, and vascular smooth muscle may be a site of damage in such oxygen toxicity. Mechanisms of the effects of these intermediates on vascular smooth muscle at the cellular level, however, have not been well studied. We have previously shown that xanthine oxidase (XO)-generated superoxide radicals (O2-.) inhibited the Ca(2+)-adenosine triphosphatase of vascular smooth muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) through mechanisms that do not involve H2O2 or hydroxyl radicals. In the present study, we report that the D-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-induced Ca2+ release from bovine aortic SR was also affected by O2-(.). Hypoxanthine (100 microM) plus XO (10 mU/ml) in the presence of catalase (100 U/ml) stimulated the IP3-induced Ca2+ release from SR monitored using arsenazo III. At 10 microM IP3, the release was doubled by O2-. treatment. As a consequence of using the higher SR protein concentrations required to observe the Ca2+ release, this effect was independent of Ca2+ uptake inhibition induced by O2-(.). Since the effect of O2-. was not seen when a nonhydrolyzable analogue of IP3 was used to induce Ca2+ release, O-2. may be inhibiting the degradation processes of IP3.