In the present work, 42 golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) were infected by intracardiac injection of 5 X 10(6) amastigote forms of Leishmania donovani. Another group of 28 animals served as uninfected controls. Six hamsters of the infected group and four hamsters of the control group were selected randomly and sacrificed at Days 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, and 49 after inoculation. The kidneys were studied by light microscopy, immunofluorescence and electron microscopy. The levels of serum and urinary immunoglobulins were determined. None of the control hamsters had kidney lesions. Light-microscopically the kidneys of infected hamsters showed a marked mesangial proliferation from Day 7 after infection. These changes were more pronounced at Day 21, when a discrete infiltration of mononuclear cells was frequent. These glomerular changes diminished after Day 28 and were replaced by deposits of amyloid. In the beginning these deposits were in the mesangium and progressively became more extensive, involving capillary loops, Bowman's capsule, and interstitium. The immunofluorescence study showed L donovani antigens and hamster immunoglobulins, primarily in the mesangial areas, by Days 7-14 after infection. These deposits extended into contiguous loops from Day 21 to Day 28. In the last 2 weeks the fluorescent staining for L donovani antigens remained intensely positive, whereas the staining for hamster immunoglobulins became moderate to slightly positive. The ultrastructural study revealed mesangial proliferation, mesangial and paramesangial electron-dense deposits, and amyloidosis in the glomeruli of infected animals. The serum immunoglobulins increased from Day 7 after infection, reaching a peak at Day 21 and falling thereafter until Day 49 to near control values. Immunoglobulins were detected in the urine of infected hamsters at day 21, increasing in amount thereafter. Since L donovani antigens and immunoglobulins were identified in the glomerular lesions, it is likely that they are implicated in the pathogenesis of the mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis in hamsters experimentally infected with L donovani. The glomerular changes may also explain the loss of immunoglobulins in the urine and the consequent lowering of serum immunoglobulin levels.