When pH]inositol-prelabeled cultured bovine adrenal chromallin cells were stimulated with nicotine (10 GM), a large and transient increase in PHIinositol pentakisphosphate (InsP,) accmnulation was observed. The accumulation reached the maximum level at 15 s, then declined to the basal level at 2 min. Nicotine also induced PH]inositol tetrakisphosphate (InsP,) and PH]inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP,) accumulation with a slower time course and a lesser magnitude than PH]InsP,. The peaks of PH]InsP,, PH]InsP, and PH]InsP, coincided with those of 3zP radioactivity, when cells were doubly labeled with PH]inositol and inorganic 3zP. These results suggest that inositol pentakisphosphate is rapidly increased by nicotine, a cholinergic agonist, in cultured adrenal chromaffin cells.