Glucokinase (EC 2.7.1.2) first appears in the liver of the rat 2 weeks after birth and increases after weaning on to a high-carbohydrate diet. We investigated the hormonal regulation of glucokinase (GK) mRNA in primary cultures of hepatocytes from 10-12-day-old suckling rats. GK mRNA was undetectable in such cells after 48 h of culture in serum-free medium devoid of hormones. Addition of insulin or tri-iodothyronine (T3) to the medium resulted in induction of GK mRNA. The effects of insulin and T3 were dose-dependent and additive. Dexamethasone alone did not induce GK mRNA, but enhanced the response to insulin and decreased the response to T3. Induction of GK mRNA by insulin was not affected when the medium glucose concentration was varied between 5 and 15 mM, nor when culture was conducted in glucose-free medium supplemented with lactate and pyruvate or galactose. The time course of initial accumulation of GK mRNA in response to insulin was characterized by a lag of 12 h and an induction plateau reached after 36 h. If hepatocytes were then withdrawn from insulin for 24 h and subsequently subjected to a secondary stimulation by insulin, GK mRNA re-accumulated with much faster kinetics and reached the fully induced level within 8 h. Both primary and secondary responses to insulin were abolished by actinomycin D. These results provide insight into the role of hormonal stimuli in the ontogenic development of hepatic glucokinase.