Acute administration of cadmium (Cd) in rats results in hepatotoxicity that appears to involve the activation of Kupffer cells and the subsequent production of proinflammatory chemokines and cytokines. However, the importance of these endogenous mediators in Cd-induced hepatotoxicity is unknown. Therefore, this study was conducted to define and utilize a rat strain difference in sensitivity to Cd-induced hepatotoxicity to elucidate the role of cytokines and chemokines in Cd-induced hepatotoxicity. Doses were selected from a dose-response study of the effect of Cd on serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) activities. Hepatotoxic doses of 2.0 mg Cd/kg in Fischer 344 (F344) rats and 3.0 mg Cd/kg in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, as well as a relatively nontoxic dose of 2.0 mg Cd/kg in SD rats, were chosen for the time-course experiment. Blood and liver from F344 (saline or 2.0 mg Cd/kg iv) and SD rats (saline or 2.0 or 3.0 mg Cd/kg iv) were collected at 0, 1, 3, 6, 10, 18, 24, and 48 h after Cd administration. Cadmium treatment caused an increase in serum ALT and SDH by 3 h and peaked between 18 and 24 h in both strains. Hepatic Cd content, metallothionein (MT) induction, and nonprotein sulfhydryl (NPSH) content were quantified and determined to be consistent with dosing rather than strain differences. Total RNA samples isolated from liver samples were analyzed for chemokine (CINC-1 and MCP-1) and cytokine (TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, and IL-10) mRNA levels by the Quantigene branched DNA signal amplification assay. Lipopolysaccharide treatment served as a positive control for chemokine and cytokine induction. After Cd administration, F344 rat livers did not contain higher levels or earlier induction of chemokine and cytokine mRNAs than SD rats. Therefore, this study demonstrates a strain difference in sensitivity to Cd-induced hepatotoxicity that appears to be unrelated to Cd, MT, NPSH, or cytokine expression.