The present study evaluated the effects of a new benzothiazepine calcium channel antagonist, clentiazem, on arterial pressure and renal function in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and Munich-Wistar rats (MWR). Administration of clentiazem in doses from 1 to 20 micrograms/kg/min produced dose-dependent increases in sodium and water excretion in MWR, reaching maximum values of 292 and 376% of control, respectively, at the 20-micrograms/kg/min dose. Clentiazem (10 micrograms/kg/min) lowered arterial pressure by 16% and doubled glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in MWR. The rise in GFR was associated with an increase in glomerular capillary pressure of 16 mm Hg, produced by a combination of preglomerular vasodilation and efferent arteriolar vasoconstriction. In SHR, administration of clentiazem (10 micrograms/kg/min) lowered arterial pressure by 30 mm Hg and increased urine flow and sodium excretion by 137 and 200%, respectively. In WKY rats, the same dose of clentiazem decreased arterial pressure by only 10 mm Hg, whereas urine flow and sodium excretion increased 62 and 38%, respectively. A high dose of clentiazem (1 mg/kg bolus plus 1 mg/kg/hr infusion i.v.) lowered arterial pressure by 63 mm Hg in SHR. Renal vascular resistance fell by 39% and there was a 5-fold increase in sodium excretion. In WKY rats, the same dose of clentiazem reduced arterial pressure by 20 mm Hg, but it had no significant effect on sodium excretion. These results indicate that clentiazem increases sodium excretion and GFR in normotensive rats in part by preferentially dilating the renal preglomerular vasculature. This compound is also an antihypertensive agent that lowers arterial pressure and promotes sodium excretion in SHR.