The regulation of Cl- and cation conductances by the nonhydrolyzable ATP analog adenosine 5'-(beta,gamma-methylene)triphosphate (AMP-PCP) was characterized in isolated zymogen granules (ZG) from pancreatic acinar cells. ZG were purified from rat pancreas homogenate by Percoll gradient centrifugation. Cl- conductance was assayed by suspending ZG in isotonic KCl buffer and measuring osmotic lysis induced by maximal permeabilization of ZG membranes (ZGM) for K+ with the K+ ionophore valinomycin (Val). This resulted in influx of K+ through the artificial pathway and of Cl- through endogenous channels. To measure cation conductances ZG (pHi approximately 6) were suspended in pH 7 buffered isotonic monovalent cation acetate salts. The pH gradient was converted into an outside-directed H+ diffusion potential by maximally increasing H+ conductance of ZGM with the protonophore carbonyl cyanide p-chlorophenylhydrazone. Osmotic lysis of ZG was induced by H+ diffusion potential driven influx of monovalent cations through endogenous channels and non-ionic diffusion of the counterion acetate. In the absence of Val, ZG were stable in KCl buffer up to 2 h. AMP-PCP enhanced osmotic lysis approximately 4-fold compared to control, due to activation of Cl- conductance by AMP-PCP and K+ influx through an AMP-PCP-insensitive nonselective cation pathway, which could be blocked by 0.1 mM Ba2+, 0.5 mM quinine, or 0.2 mM flufenamate. In addition, a K+ and Rb+ selective cation conductance was found which was completely blocked by 0.5 mM AMP-PCP or 0.5 mM quinine. AMP-PCP induced Cl- conductance was strongly inhibited by two monoclonal antibodies against MDR1 P-glycoprotein (JSB-1 and C219; 5-10 micrograms/ml), but not by a monoclonal antibody against the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (M3A7; 5 micrograms/ml) or by mouse IgG. The AMP-PCP insensitive nonselective cation conductance was not blocked by monoclonal antibodies against MDR1 P-glycoprotein (MDR1). Immunoblot studies of ZG membranes revealed the presence of a major immunoreactive protein band of approximately 65 kDa with both monoclonal antibodies against MDR1, but no protein of the approximate size of MDR1 (approximately 170 kDa) was detected. We propose that the Cl- channel or a regulator of the channel, that is activated by the non-hydrolyzable ATP analog AMP-PCP in ZG membranes, is a member of the ATP binding cassette superfamily of transporters and may have homology to MDR1 P-glycoprotein.