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Objective: To study cross-talk between β-opioid receptor and β-adrenoceptor through determination of the intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) and cAMP responses in ventricular myocytes of rats subjected to chronic hypoxia for 4 weeks.Methods: Electrically-induced [Ca2+]i transient was measured in single right ventricular myocytes isolated from hearts of chronically hypoxic rats and the age-matched normoxic rats, by using a spectrofluorometric method.Results: β-adrenoceptor stimulation with isoproterenol increased the electrically-induced [Ca2+]i transient and cAMP in myocytes of normoxic rats.U50,488H, a selective β-opioid receptor agonist, at dose (1 μmol/L) which itself had no effect on the [Ca2+]i transient and cAMP, significantly inhibited the effect of isoproterenol.This inhibition was completely abolished in the presence of nor-BNI, a selective κ-opioid receptor antagonist.In the ventricular myocytes of chronically hypoxic rats, the inhibition of U50,488H on the increased [Ca2+]i transient and cAMP with isoproterenol was blunted.Conclusion: Results indicate that the cross-talk between the κ-opioid receptor and β-adrenoceptor is attenuated in the right ventricular myocytes of chronically hypoxic rat.This may be a self-protective mechanism of the heart following chronic hypoxia, which prevents the further decrease of the cardiac function.