The effects of extracellular Cl- concentration ([Cl-]o) on cultured mesangial cells from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were examined. Angiotensin II (ANG II)- and vasopressin (VP)-induced cell contraction and Ca2+ transients of SHR mesangial cells were unaffected when the cells were preincubated with 10 mM [Cl-]o, while obvious suppression of the responses to these agents was observed in Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) mesangial cells. Enhanced prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production was elicited by a decrease in [Cl-]o in WKY mesangial cells. In contrast, PGE2 synthesis by SHR mesangial cells was not enhanced by low [Cl-]o. However, ANG II-stimulated PGE2 production and the attenuation of ANG II-induced cell contraction and Ca2+ transients by the addition of exogenous PGE2 were present equally in both WKY and SHR mesangial cells. Based on these findings, we conclude that the absence of modification of mesangial cell function by [Cl-]o in SHR is due to the inability of low [Cl-]o to enhance PGE2 production. Insensitivity of SHR mesangial cells to changes in [Cl-]o might underlie the dysregulation of renal function in SHR.