The recent demonstration of K+ channel dysfunction in fibroblasts from Alzheimer disease (AD) patients and past observations of Ca(2+)-mediated K+ channel modulation during memory storage suggested that AD, which is characterized by memory loss and other cognitive deficits, might also involve dysfunction of intracellular Ca2+ mobilization. Bombesin-induced Ca2+ release, which is inositol trisphosphate-mediated, is shown here to be greatly enhanced in AD fibroblasts compared with fibroblasts from control groups. Bradykinin, another activator of phospholipase C, elicits similar enhancement of Ca2+ signaling in AD fibroblasts. By contrast, thapsigargin, an agent that releases Ca2+ by direct action on the endoplasmic reticulum, produced no differences in Ca2+ increase between AD and control fibroblasts. Depolarization-induced Ca2+ influx data previously demonstrated the absence of between-group differences of Ca2+ pumping and/or buffering. There was no correlation between the number of passages in tissue culture and the observed Ca2+ responses. Furthermore, cells of all groups were seeded and analyzed at the same densities. Radioligand binding experiments indicated that the number and affinity of bombesin receptors cannot explain the observed differences. These and previous observations suggest that the differences in bombesin and bradykinin responses in fibroblasts and perhaps other cell types are likely to be due to alteration of inositol trisphosphate-mediated release of intracellular Ca2+.