Diethylstilbestrol is a potent inhibitory agent of the Ca(2+)-ATPase activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes. Other structurally related molecules, such as dienestrol or hexestrol having hydroxyl groups at para positions of the two benzene rings produce similar effects. The absence or derivatization of the hydroxyl groups as occurs with trans-stilbene or diethylstilbestrol dipropionate converts the structure in an activating agent of the enzyme. The Ca2+ transport profiles in the presence of the referred drugs reproduces the same behavior observed for the hydrolytic activity. There is also a clear indication of a membrane-mediated mechanism of these drugs. Ligand binding experiments at equilibrium indicate that diethylstilbestrol decreases the affinity for Ca2+ of the high affinity Ca2+ sites. Functional studies reveal that the activation/inhibition induced by these drugs is correlated with decreased levels of phosphoenzyme at steady state, and these levels are sensitive to the Ca2+ concentration. Chase experiments of [32P]phosphoenzyme and 45Ca2+ indicate a slight activation effect of diethylstilbestrol dipropionate on Ca2+ dissociation during the enzyme turnover. The use of different anthroyloxy derivatives of stearic acid as a fluorescent probe suggest that diethylstilbestrol and other inhibitory agents could be located close to the polar region of the lipid bilayer, which interferes with the Ca(2+)-binding sites, whereas the activators trans-stilbene and diethylstilbestrol dipropionate may have a deeper position into the membrane, which accelerates the Ca2+ translocation process.