A cDNA encoding a mouse B2 bradykinin (BK) receptor was stably transfected in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. In two resulting transformants, mouse B2 BK receptor was found to induce a twofold elevation in the inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate level. In a pertussis toxin-insensitive manner, BK also produced a biphasic increase in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i). The initial elevation in [Ca2+]i was abolished by thapsigargin pretreatment in Ca(2+)-free medium. The second phase was dependent on external Ca2+. The BK/inositol trisphosphate and thapsigargin-sensitive Ca2+ stores required extracellular Ca2+ for refilling. Ca2+ influx induced by BK and thapsigargin was confirmed by Mn2+ entry through Ca2+ influx pathways producing Mn2+ quenching. Genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, partially decreased the BK-induced [Ca2+]i increase during the sustained phase and the rate of Mn2+ entry. BK had essentially no effect on the intracellular cyclic AMP level. The results suggest that the mouse B2 BK receptor couples to phospholipase C in CHO cells and that its activation results in biphasic [Ca2+]i increases, by mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ and store-depletion-mediated Ca2+ influx, the latter of which is tyrosine phosphorylation dependent.