We used the patch-clamp technique to examine the effect of adenosine on the basolateral K channels in the thick ascending limb (TAL) of the rat kidney. A 50-pS inwardly rectifying K channel was detected in the basolateral membrane, and the channel activity was decreased by hyperpolarization. Application of adenosine (10 microM) increased the activity of basolateral 50 pS K channels, defined by NP(o), from 0.21 to 0.41. The effect of adenosine on the 50 pS K channels was mimicked by cyclohexyladenosine (CHA), which increased channel activity by a dose-dependent manner. However, inhibition of the A1 adenosine receptor with 8-cyclopentyl-1, 3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX) failed to block the effect of CHA. In contrast, application of 8-(3-chlorostyryl) caffeine (CSC), an A2 adenosine antagonist, abolished the stimulatory effect of CHA. The possibility that the effect of adenosine and adenosine analog on the basolateral 50 pS K channel was the result of activation of the A2 adenosine receptor was also suggested by the observation that application of CGS-21680, a selected A(2A) adenosine receptor agonist, increased the channel activity. Also, inhibition of PKA with N-[2-(methylamino)ethyl]-5-isoquinoline sulfonamide-2HC1 abolished the stimulatory effect of CHA on the basolateral 50 pS K channel. Moreover, addition of the membrane-permeable cAMP analog increases the activity of 50 pS K channels. We conclude that adenosine activates the 50 pS K channel in the basolateral membrane of the TAL and the stimulatory effect is mainly mediated by a PKA-dependent pathway via the A2 adenosine receptor in the TAL.