Three divalent platinum compounds, cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum (cis-DDP), trans-dichlorodiammineplatinum (trans-DDP), and ammonium tetrachloroplatinate, were examined for their effects on glucose metabolism in male F-344 rats. Rats were treated with a single iv dose of cis-DDP (0, 2.5, or 5 mg/kg), trans-DDP (0, 5, 7.5, or 15 mg/kg) or tetrachloroplatinate (0, 6, or 18 mg/kg). Glucose tolerance was evaluated 2, 4, 7, and 14 days following platinum treatment by serially measuring plasma glucose before and following an ip glucose load. Administration of 5 mg/kg cis-DDP impaired glucose tolerance on Days 2 and 4, but not on Days 7 and 14. Plasma immunoreactive glucagon (IRG) was elevated at all times following cis-DDP treatment and thus was not correlated with the transient impairment in glucose tolerance. Plasma immunoreactive insulin (IRI) response to a glucose load was deficient relative to the degree of hyperglycemia in cis-DDP-treated (5 mg/kg) animals on Days 2 and 4. However, neither histopathological damage of the pancreas nor pancreatic stores of IRI were affected by cis-DDP treatment. In contrast to cis-DDP, equimolar or greater than equimolar doses of trans-DDP or tetrachloroplatinate did not significantly affect glucose tolerance at any time examined. These results indicate that cis-DDP-mediated glucose intolerance is unique to the geometry of the complex and is related to properties other than the presence of a divalent platinum atom. Furthermore, glucose intolerance following cis-DDP treatment appears to be related to a relative deficiency in insulin secretion.