Renal papillary collecting tubule (RPCT) hormone responsiveness was compared between cultured RPCT cells from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Unstimulated cells from 4-week-old SHR produced less prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and cyclic (c)AMP than comparable cells from WKY, while cells from both stains synthesized similar amounts of PGE2 after stimulation with arachidonate, A23187 or bradykinin and similar amounts of cAMP after stimulation with vasopressin or PGE2. There was no difference in basal or stimulated levels of cyclic (c)GMP between the strains. In RPCT cells from 16-week-old rats, basal levels of cAMP, cGMP and PGE2 were significantly lower than those from 4-week-old rats, but they did not differ between the strains. These results suggest that RPCT cells of SHR and WKY at the post-weaning period may differ in the metabolism of PGE2 and cAMP. This difference may be attributed to the possible defect in arachidonate availability in SHR.