The effects of the three hydrophobic molecules triphenylphosphine, trifluoperazine and 3-nitrophenol on Ca2+ uptake and ATPase activity in sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles was investigated. When ATP was the substrate, triphenylphosphine (3 pM) increased the amount of Ca2+ accumulated by the vesicles. At high concentrations triphenylphosphine inhibited Ca2 + uptake. This effect varied depending on the ATP concentration and the type of nucleotide used. With ITP there was only inhibition and no activation of Ca2+ uptake by triphenylphosphine. On the other hand, trifluoperazine inhibited Ca2+ accumulation regardless of whether ATP or ITP was used as substrate. When 5 mM oxalate was included in the medium in order to avoid binding of Ca2+ to the low-affinity &'+-binding sites of the enzyme, both stimulation by triphenylphosphine and inhibition by trifluoperazine were reduced. In leaky vesicles at low Ca2+ concentrations, triphenylphosphine and 3-nitrophenol were competitive inhibitors of ATPase activity at the regulatory site of the enzyme (0.1 -1 mM ATP). A striking difference was observed when both the high-and low-affinity Ca'+-binding sites were saturated. In this condition, triphenylphosphine and 3-nitrophenol promoted a 3 -4-fold increase in the apparent affinity for ATP at its regulatory site.The Ca2+-ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum is a membrane-bound protein responsible for the active Ca2 + accumulation that occurs during relaxation of skeletal muscle [l -31. It has been suggested that during the catalytic cycle the enzyme would change its conformation [4 -61, undergoing a hydrophilic -hydrophobic transition [7 -91. In the E form (Fig. l), the enzyme is phosphorylated by ATP and the catalytic site wold have a hydrophilic character. In the *E form, the enzyme is phosphorylated by PI and the catalytic site would have a hydrophobic character [9].In previous papers, we have shown that a variety of hydrophobic molecules competitively inhibit the phosphorylation of the enzyme by PI, and also decreased the net synthesis of ATP during reversal of the Ca2+ pump [lo-121. The effects observed on Ca2+-ATPase were correlated with hydrophobicity of the drugs, indicating that hydrophobic molecules interact with the catalytic site in the *E enzyme form, impairing the entry of PI [l 11. This interaction might be favoured by the hydrophobic environment of the active site in the *E form.Recently, it has been shown that other hydrophobic molecules such as cyclopiazonic acid [13] and nonylphenol [14] strongly decrease the rate of *E -E transition. The authors attributed this effect either by modifications on ATP induced conformational changes [13] or by stabilization of the *E enzyme form [14].In this report, we compare the effects of three hydrophobic compounds, triphenylphosphine, trifluoperazine and 3-nitrophenol on the catalytic cycle of the Ca'+-ATPase. Although all the drugs tested were shown to compete with P, [ l l -121,