We studied the effects of hydrocortisone, an inhibitor of phospholipase A2, on the secretion of mucin and release of prostaglandins from guinea pig gallbladder explants. We measured mucin using [3H]glucosamine as a precursor and prostaglandins by radioimmunoassay of 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha. Mucin secretion and prostaglandin release were studied under basal conditions and after arachidonate stimulation. Hydrocortisone sodium succinate reversibly inhibited basal secretion of mucin by 24% at 10(-5) M (P less than 0.05 compared with control) and 34% at 10(-4) M (P less than 0.01). Hydrocortisone, 10(-4) M, also reversibly inhibited arachidonate-stimulated secretion of mucin (P less than 0.01 compared with controls incubated with arachidonate alone). Release of prostaglandin F1 alpha was significantly inhibited by hydrocortisone under basal (P less than 0.01) and arachidonate-stimulated (P less than 0.01) conditions. The inhibitory effect of hydrocortisone was mediated by inhibition of hydrolysis of arachidonate from membrane phospholipids, suggesting that exogenous arachidonate is incorporated into membrane phospholipids prior to conversion to prostaglandins.