The role of Ca2+ in eccrine sweat secretion was studied using isolated cannulated monkey palm eccrine sweat glands in vitro. Removal of Ca2+ from the incubation medium promptly abolished sweat secretion induced by methacholine or phenylephrine. In contrast, isoproterenol-induced sweat secretion lasted from 40 to 220 min in a Ca2+-free medium. The methacholine-induced maximal sweat rate was a hyperbolic function of the Ca2+ concentration in the bath and reached a plateau at 1 mM Ca2+. Higher Ca2+ concentrations rather suppressed the secretory rate. The Ca2+ ionophore A23187, but not X537A, at 3 X 10(-6) M induced copious prolonged sweat secretion after a latent period of 10 min. A23187-induced sweat secretion was not inhibited by either atropine or propranolol. D 600 (methoxyverapamil) at 10(-3) M inhibited sweat secretion induced by methacholine or by isoproterenol, although the latter lasted longer than methacholine sweating (20 vs. 5 min) in the presence of D 600. The data support the notion that Ca2+ influx into the cell plays a crucial role in cholinergic and alpha-adrenergic sweating, whereas a partial supply of Ca2+ for isoproterenol-induced sweating is derived from an intracellular store.