Capacitative Ca2+ entry has been examined in several tissues and, in some, appears to be mediated by nonselective cation channels collectively referred to as "store-operated" cation channels; however, relatively little is known about the electrophysiological properties of these channels in airway smooth muscle. Consequently we examined the electrophysiological characteristics and changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentration associated with a cyclopiazonic acid (CPA)-evoked current in porcine and bovine airway smooth muscle using patch-clamp and Ca2+-fluorescence techniques. In bovine tracheal myocytes, CPA induced an elevation of intracellular Ca2+ that was dependent on extracellular Ca2+ and was insensitive to nifedipine (an L-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channel inhibitor). Using patch-clamp techniques and conditions that block both K+ and Cl- currents, we found that CPA rapidly activated a membrane conductance (I(CPA)) in porcine and bovine tracheal myocytes that exhibits a linear current-voltage relationship with a reversal potential around 0 mV. Replacement of extracellular Na+ resulted in a marked reduction of I(CPA) at physiological membrane potentials (i.e., -60 mV) that was accompanied by a shift in the reversal potential for I(CPA) toward more negative membrane potentials. In addition, I(CPA) was markedly inhibited by 10 microM Gd3+ and La3+ but was largely insensitive to 1 microM nifedipine. We conclude that CPA induces capacitative Ca2+ entry in porcine and bovine tracheal smooth muscle via a Gd3+- and La3+-sensitive, nonselective cation conductance.