In the isolated perfused rat liver 2,5-di(tert-butyl)hydroquinone (tBuHQ), a selective inhibitor of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump, induces a prolonged glucose output and stimulates Ca2+ efflux. The present study shows that tBuHQ depleted the hormone-sensitive Ca2+ pool in the perfused liver, abolishing the vasopressin- or phenylephrine-induced Ca2+ efflux. The effects of tBuHQ were reversible, since the response to these agonists gradually returned within 1 hr of perfusion, and protein synthesis was not required for this recovery. Since tBuHQ does not cause Ca2+ efflux from isolated hepatocytes, we examined the mechanism responsible for the tBuHQ-induced Ca2+ efflux observed in the intact liver. The cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin prevented the Ca2+ extrusion stimulated by tBuHQ, but not that induced by vasopressin. During infusion of tBuHQ there was a 9-fold increase in the concentration of thromboxane B2 in the perfusate. The Ca2+ efflux response to tBuHQ was inhibited by the thromboxane/prostaglandin endoperoxide receptor antagonist, L-655,240 (3-[1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-5-fluoro-3-methyl-indol-2-yl]2,2-dimethylpropa noic acid) in the absence of any effect on thromboxane B2 release. Thus, the inhibition of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump by tBuHQ results in a rise in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration in non-parenchymal cells, leading to the formation of cyclooxygenase products. The released eicosanoids, in turn, stimulate Ca2+ efflux from hepatocytes.