Failure to detect nephrotoxicity of chronically administered dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in rats.

Male and female rats received daily intraperitoneal injections of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO; 2 or 4 g/kg) or saline for 28 days. At the end of that time, the ability of the animals' kidneys to transport p-aminohippurate (PAH) and N-methylnicotinamide (NMN) was tested in an in vitro system.Both doses of DMSO used produced measurable toxicity of a general nature: There was some mortality, and growth of the animals was retarded. However, DMSO had no detectable nephrotoxic action. Terminal serum urea and creatinine concentrations were normal in all treatment groups, and there was no effect of DMSO on the uptake of PAH or NMN by renal cortical slices. The data suggest that DMSO does not have an important specific toxic effect on the kidneys in this species.