The immunosuppressive effects of cyclosporin A, FK506, and rapamycin were compared in mouse and rat systems of in vitro cellular stimulation. The inhibitory profile of rapamycin was distinctly different in the two species. In mouse systems, rapamycin caused a dose-dependent inhibition of both Ca(2+)-dependent (concanavalin A (Con A), phytohemagglutinin (PHA), and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate + ionomycin) and Ca(2+)-independent (lipopolysaccharide and PMA + interleukin-2) activation, whereas in the rat only Ca(2+)-independent responses were inhibited. Rapamycin's lack of activity in Ca(2+)-dependent responses in the rat does not appear to reside in a general insensitivity of this pathway to inhibition as cyclosporin A and FK506 demonstrated potent inhibitory activity. Additionally, rapamycin was able to block the inhibitory effect of FK506 on rat cells stimulated with the Ca(2+)-dependent stimulus, Con A. These results indicate a further dissociation in the biological activity of rapamycin compared to cyclosporin A and FK506 and may point to intriguing species differences in the immunosuppressive effects of these compounds in vitro.