Angiotensin II (AII) regulates the secretion of aldosterone from adrenal glomerulosa cells by a calcium-dependent mechanism which involves both the uptake of calcium from the extracellular pool, and the release of calcium from a dantrolene-sensitive intracellular pool. In the present study, it was shown that AII induces the rapid (10 s) hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and -4,5-bisphosphate, leading to the sustained production of inositol bis- and trisphosphate (Ins-P3), and diacylglycerol rich in arachidonic acid. Saponin-permeabilized glomerulosa cells accumulate calcium into a nonmitochondrial pool by an ATP-dependent manner. Ins-P3 (0.5-5 microM) induces a release of Ca2+ from this pool. This release was blocked by dantrolene (10 microM). Adrenal glomerulosa cells were shown to contain the calcium-activated, phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (C-kinase). Perfusion of glomerulosa cells with combined 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate and A23187 induced an immediately developing, sustained, maximal secretory response similar to that induced by AII. These data are interpreted in terms of a model in which, after AII addition, there is a flow of information through two separate branches of the calcium messenger system, each with its unique temporal role: a calmodulin branch activated by the transient rise in the [Ca2+] in the cell cytosol, which is largely responsible for the initial transient cellular response; and a C-kinase branch activated by the increase in both cytosolic [Ca2+] and the diacylglycerol content of the plasma membrane, which is largely responsible for the sustained phase of the cellular response. The temporal integration of these two phases underlies the observed pattern of cellular response.