This study was designed to characterize adenosine's negative chronotropic effect on ventricular pacemakers. The spontaneous beating rate of isolated, isovolumic rat ventricular preparations perfused with Krebs-Henseleit solution decreased as the adenosine concentration was increased [log M effective concentration 50% (EC50) = -5.22 +/- 0.17]. The lack of effect of propranolol or atropine on this adenosine response eliminates the involvement of endogenous neurotransmitters. Support for the involvement of an external cell surface receptor was provided by findings that theophylline and 8-(4-sulfophenyl)theophylline, an analogue thought to act solely at the cell surface, significantly increased the adenosine log M EC50 to -3.94 +/- 0.22 and -3.61 +/- 0.22, respectively. An increase in spontaneous beating rate induced by theophylline, but not by its analogue, was blocked by the addition of propranolol. The relative chronotropic potency of the adenosine analogues R-PIA, S-PIA, and NECA suggests that the cell surface receptors may be of the Ri type. The negative chronotropic effects of adenosine and its analogues occurred at concentrations that had no effect on the developed pressure of the paced preparation. Electrocardiographic evaluations indicate that at high agonist concentrations, there was an abrupt alteration in electrical properties of the preparation, which could be blocked by theophylline and its analogue.