The expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), the ligand leucocyte function antigen-1 (LFA-1, CD11a), and complement receptor type 3 (CR3, or Mac-1, CD11b) has been studied in murine kidneys acutely infected with the fatal malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei ANKA. Thirty-six kidney sections from five groups of C57BL/6J mice on day 5, 10, 15, and 20 post-infection, and normal controls, were stained with monoclonal antibodies against ICAM-1, LFA-1, and Mac-1. There was markedly enhanced expression of ICAM-1 in the glomerular mesangium and the endothelium of blood vessels from day 10 post-infection. ICAM-1 was also found in the proximal tubular epithelial cells in an apical location, with a linear pattern. In addition, the glomeruli showed positive staining for LFA-1 and Mac-1 on day 10 post-infection, mainly in the infiltrating inflammatory cells. Mesangial cells and inflammatory cells in the cortical tubulointerstitium showed positive staining for ICAM-1, LFA-1, and Mac-1 at the later stages of infection. There were strong correlations between ICAM-1 expression on endothelial cells of glomerular/peritubular capillaries with inflammatory cells positive for LFA-1 and Mac-1, which correlated with proteinuria. These findings show that several adhesion molecules are up-regulated in murine malaria-associated nephritis. The expression of ICAM-1 on endothelial cells correlated with the severity of inflammatory responses, indicating the relationship between the expression of adhesion molecules and cell-mediated immune renal injury. It is suggested that adhesion molecules play an important role in the pathogenesis of murine nephritis. Better knowledge of the function of these molecules in malaria infection may open new approaches to antimalarial therapy.