Because the concentration of metallothionein (MT) in perinatal rat liver is 10 to 20 times higher than levels present in liver of untreated adult rats, it was of interest to determine if immature rats are less susceptible to the hepatotoxic effects of cadmium (Cd) seen in adults. Male Sprague-Dawley adult rats received a hepatotoxic dose of 4.0 mg Cd/kg, iv, and 10-day-old rats received 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 mg Cd/kg, iv. Ten hours following Cd injection, plasma enzyme activities in adults were elevated (aspartate aminotransferase, 50-fold; sorbitol dehydrogenase, 87-fold) and histologic examination showed extensive hepatic injury; however, no damage was evident in 10-day-old rats, even at the 6 mg Cd/kg dose. Two hours after injection of 3.5 mg Cd/kg, iv (7 microCi 109Cd/mg Cd), the concentration of Cd was higher in liver, heart, and brain and lower in kidneys of 10-day-old rats compared to adults. An age comparison of the hepatic subcellular distribution of Cd revealed a higher amount of Cd in cytosol and less in the particulate fraction of 10-day-old rats. Furthermore, cytosolic Cd was predominantly bound to MT. These data support the hypothesis that presynthesized levels of MT are important in producing tolerance to acute Cd toxicity and that tolerance results from an altered hepatic subcellular distribution of Cd.