We have recently demonstrated that the dihydropyridine-derivative B859-35 has a selective chemotherapeutic effect on experimentally induced neuroendocrine lung tumors in hamsters. These tumors resembled human atypical lung carcinoids morphologically and expressed mammalian bombesin, calcitonin and neuron-specific enolase. In the hamster model, B859-35 had no antiproliferative effect on pulmonary adenomas of Clara cell origin. In this study, we have tested the antiproliferative effects of B859-35 and of the Ca(2+)-channel blocker Verapamil in vitro on three human lung cancer cell lines. The neuroendocrine cell line NCI-H727 is derived from a lung carcinoid and expresses mammalian bombesin and calcitonin. Two non-neuroendocrine cell lines are derived from peripheral pulmonary adenocarcinomas, with line NCI-H322 expressing features of Clara cells while line NCI-H358 expresses features of alveolar type II cells. B859-35 was a potent antiproliferative agent in the neuroendocrine line NCI-H727 at concentrations as low as 0.001 pM, while it inhibited cell proliferation in the two other cell lines at concentrations of 100 nM and above. Verapamil inhibited cell proliferation in the neuroendocrine line NCI-H727 at concentrations of 1 nM and above.