The rat A3 adenosine receptor (AR) is a recently characterized AR subtype cloned from testis and brain cDNA libraries. N6-2-(4-Amino-3-[125I]iodophenyl)ethyladenosine, a high affinity A1AR agonist, has served as the only radioligand available for study of the A3AR. The relatively low affinity of N6-2-(4-amino-3-[125I] iodophenyl)ethyladenosine for the A3AR and its greater A1AR selectivity necessitate the development of more appropriate radioligands for A3AR analysis. This report characterizes 125I-4-aminobenzyl-5'-N-methylcarboxamidoadenosine (125I-AB-MECA), a high affinity radioligand for the A3AR, in two cell lines that express this AR subtype. Membranes from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing the rat A3AR and from the rat mast cell line RBL-2H3 bound 125I-AB-MECA with Kd values of 1.48 +/- 0.33 nM and 3.61 +/- 0.30 nM, respectively. As determined by 125I-AB-MECA binding, levels of A3AR expression in the A3AR-CHO cell line and RBL-2H3 cells were 3.06 +/- 0.21 pmol/mg and 1.02 +/- 0.13 pmol/mg, respectively. Binding of 125I-AB-MECA was characterized in competition assays. In the A3AR-CHO cell line a potency order of cyclohexyl-5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (cyclohexyl-NECA) = benzyl-NECA > (-)-N6-[(R)-phenylisopropyl]adenosine = NECA was observed, and in RBL-2H3 cells (-)-N6-[(R)-phenylisopropyl]adenosine and NECA were equipotent. Xanthine amine congener (XAC) and 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine did not significantly inhibit 125I-AB-MECA binding. The parent compound, AB-MECA, dose-dependently inhibited forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in A3AR-CHO cell membranes. 125I-AB-MECA bound to the rat A1AR and canine A2aAR expressed in COS-7 cells with Kd values of 3.42 +/- 0.43 nM and 25.1 +/- 12.6 nM, respectively. This binding was significantly reduced in the presence of 1 microM XAC. In RBL-2H3 cells, XAC had no effect on 125I-AB-MECA affinity and reduced the level of radioligand binding by approximately 5%.