Greater protein intake increases glomerular eicosanoid production in rats. Bilateral ureteral obstruction (BUO) also enhances glomerular eicosanoid production in experimental animals. To examine the effects of dietary protein intake on glomerular eicosanoid production in ureteral obstruction, we measured the in vitro production of the vasodilatory prostaglandins, PGE2, and 6-keto PGF1 alpha, and the vasoconstrictor, TxB2, and the mass of cyclooxygenase in glomeruli of sham-operated control (SOC) rats and rats with BUO of 24 hr duration fed a low- (6% casein) or a high- (40% casein) protein diet for approximately 4 weeks. The animals were pretreated or not with the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, enalaprilat, prior to sham-operation or ureteral obstruction. Glomeruli from SOC rats fed a high-protein diet produced significantly greater amounts of PGE2, 6-keto PGF1 alpha, and TxB2, and had substantially increased mass of cyclooxygenase when compared with glomeruli from SOC rats fed a low-protein diet. Pretreatment of animals with enalaprilat prior to sham operation prevented the increase in glomerular eicosanoid production and cyclooxygenase content in SOC rats fed a high-protein diet and the levels observed were similar to those in SOC rats fed a low-protein diet. Both eicosanoid production and cyclooxygenase mass were further increased in glomeruli from rats with BUO fed a high-protein diet when compared with glomeruli of SOC rats fed the same diet. The increased levels of these measurements in BUO rats fed a high-protein diet fell markedly when the rats were pretreated with enalaprilat in vivo. The values were essentially comparable to those of SOC rats fed a low-protein diet. By contrast, there was no substantial increase in the production of PGE2, 6-keto PGF1 alpha, and TxB2 and in the mass of cycloxygenase in glomeruli of BUO versus SOC rats fed a low-protein diet. Enalaprilat did not affect glomerular eicosanoid production or cyclooxygenase content in SOC and BUO rats fed a low-protein diet. Taken together, the present study indicates that dietary protein affects BUO-induced increases in glomerular eicosanoid production by altering the activity of the cyclooxygenase pathway mainly via the reninangiotensin system. Thus, protein content in a diet may modify an alteration in renal hemodynamics caused by BUO by changing the glomerular production of eicosanoids and the activity of the renin-angiotensin system.