Time dependent changes in urinary biochemical indicators for renal tubular injury and dysfunction were determined in female Wistar rats after an intraperitoneal injection of cadmium-metallothionein (Cd-MT) (50, 150 or 300 micrograms Cd/kg body wt) to further characterize the tubular damage caused by Cd. The Cd-MT injection caused dose-dependent increases in urinary activities of the enzymes (alkaline phosphatase; gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase; lactate dehydrogenase, LDH; N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase) on day 1, which appeared to reflect the tubular injury. The rate of increase in LDH, a cytosolic enzyme, was the largest among those of the enzymes. This result coincided with the data reported for repeated administration of ionic Cd to rats, suggesting that the feature of tubular injury caused by an injection of Cd-MT is similar to that by chronic exposure to ionic Cd. Changes in urinary glucose and total protein, indicators of tubular dysfunction, and metals (Cd, zinc and copper) were accompanied with those in urinary enzymes. Hydrocarbons in breath of rats injected with Cd-MT at a dose of 300 micrograms Cd/kg body weight were also determined as an indicator of in vivo lipid peroxidation. The levels of ethane and propane were significantly increased at 12 h after injection, which suggests that lipid peroxidation is partly involved in the tubular damage reflected by the increases in urinary enzymes.