The effect of N-benzyl-D-glucamine dithiocarbamate (BGD) on the renal toxicity of inorganic mercury in rats was studied. Rats were injected i.v. with saline or HgCl2 (300 micrograms Hg/kg) and 30 min later they were injected i.p. with saline or BGD (2778 mumol/kg, a quarter of an LD50). Urinary excretion of gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase (gamma-GTP), which is a brush border enzyme, in rats after mercury treatment significantly increased compared to that of the control in the 12-24 h urine specimen and reached a maximum value within 24 h after the treatment. Urinary excretion of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), which is a lysosomal enzyme, also significantly increased after mercury treatment compared to that of the control in the 12-24 h urine specimen and reached a maximum value within 48 h after the treatment. A change in urinary aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity after mercury treatment followed a pattern similar to that observed with the urinary NAG. BGD treatment did not increase the urinary excretions of gamma-GTP, NAG, and AST. The uptake of p-aminohippuric acid (PAH) by renal cortical slices significantly decreased 24 h after mercury treatment. BGD injection after mercury treatment did not decrease the uptake of PAH by cortical slices. In addition, the microscopic examination of renal tissue from mercury-treated rats revealed necrosis of the proximal tubular cells. However, a photomicrograph of rat renal cortex after BGD treatment showed little abnormality. These results indicated that the mercury-induced renal damage was protected by the injection of BGD 30 min after mercury treatment.