1. The effects of Ca2+ concentration and Ca2+ channel blockers on noradrenaline (NA) and adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) release from postganglionic sympathetic nerves have been investigated in rat tail arteries in vitro. Intracellularly recorded excitatory junction potentials (e.j.ps) were used as a measure of ATP release and continuous amperometry was used to measure NA release. 2. Varying the extracellular Ca2+ concentration similarly affected the amplitudes of e.j.ps and NA-induced oxidation currents evoked by trains of ten stimuli at 1 Hz. 3. The N-type Ca2+ blocker, omega-conotoxin GVIA (omega-CTX GVIA, 0.1 microM) reduced the amplitudes of both e.j.ps (evoked by trains of ten stimuli at 1 Hz) and NA-induced oxidation currents (evoked by trains of ten stimuli at 1 Hz and 50 stimuli at 10 Hz) by about 90%. 4. The omega-CTX GVIA resistant e.j.ps and NA-induced oxidation currents evoked by trains of 50 stimuli at 10 Hz were abolished by the non-selective Ca2+ channel blocker, Cd2+ (0.1 mM), and were reduced by omega-conotoxin MVIIC (0.5 microM) and omega-agatoxin IVA (40 nM). 5. Nifedipine (10 microm) had no inhibitory effect on omega-CTX GVIA resistant e.j.ps and NA-induced oxidation currents. 6. Thus both varying Ca2+ concentration and applying Ca2+ channel blockers results in similar effects on NA and ATP release from postganglionic sympathetic nerves. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that NA and ATP are co-released together from the sympathetic nerve terminals.