To investigate the signaling pathways to Na+/H+ exchanger activation with epidermal growth factor in hepatocytes, we measured changes in cytosolic free calcium and intracellular pH levels at the single-cell level using digital imaging fluorescence microscopy of fura-2- or BCECF-loaded hepatocytes in primary culture. Epidermal growth factor induced cytosolic free calcium oscillations consisting of periodic trains of spikes with a latency period of up to several minutes. These calcium responses were inhibited by tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein (100 mumol/L) and abolished by emptying of intracellular Ca2+ pools with 3 mumol/L thapsigargin, an inhibitor of Ca(2+)-ATPase on the endoplasmic reticulum. Epidermal growth factor (1 nmol/L) induced an intracellular pH increase of 0.12 +/- 0.07 units from the basal level of 7.25 +/- 0.09 units after several minutes of latency. This effect was completely abolished by 1 mmol/L amiloride, an inhibitor of the Na+/H+ exchanger. The epidermal growth factor-induced intracellular pH increase was inhibited by pretreatment of hepatocytes with genistein (100 mumol/L), thapsigargin (3 mumol/L) or calmodulin inhibitor W-7 (25 mumol/L), but not with protein kinase C inhibitor H-7 (50 mumol/L) or with cyclic AMP-dependent kinase inhibitor H-8 (60 mumol/L). Phorbol ester PMA (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate), a potent activator of protein kinase C, induced a slight intracellular pH increase significantly smaller than that with epidermal growth factor, whereas this effect was completely blocked by pretreatment with H-7, indicating that PMA-induced intracellular pH increase is mediated by protein kinase C pathways, unlike epidermal growth factor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)