The present studies examined the role and mechanism of action of infiltrating T lymphocytes in the kidney during salt-sensitive hypertension. Infiltrating T lymphocytes in the Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) kidney significantly increased from 7.2 Ϯ 1.8 ϫ 10 5 cells/2 kidneys to 18.2 Ϯ 3.9 ϫ 10 5 cells/2 kidneys (n ϭ 6/group) when dietary NaCl was increased from 0.4 to 4.0%. Furthermore, the expression of immunoreactive p67 phox , gp91 phox , and p47 phox subunits of NADPH oxidase was increased in T cells isolated from the kidneys of rats fed 4.0% NaCl. The urinary excretion of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS; an index of oxidative stress) also increased from 367 Ϯ 49 to 688 Ϯ 92 nmol/day (n ϭ 8/group) when NaCl intake was increased in Dahl SS rats. Studies were then performed on rats treated with a daily injection of vehicle (5% dextrose) or tacrolimus (0.25 mg · kg Ϫ1 · day Ϫ1 ip), a calcineurin inhibitor that suppresses immune function, during the period of high-NaCl intake (n ϭ 5/group). In contrast to the immune cell infiltration, increased NADPH oxidase expression, and elevated urine TBARS excretion in vehicle-treated Dahl SS fed high salt, these parameters were unaltered as NaCl intake was increased in Dahl SS rats administered tacrolimus. Moreover, tacrolimus treatment blunted high-salt mean arterial blood pressure and albumin excretion rate (152 Ϯ 3 mmHg and 20 Ϯ 9 mg/day, respectively) compared with values in dextrose-treated Dahl SS rats (171 Ϯ 8 mmHg and 74 Ϯ 28 mg/day). These experiments indicate that blockade of infiltrating immune cells is associated with decreased oxidative stress, an attenuation of hypertension, and a reduction of renal damage in Dahl SS rats fed high salt. reactive oxygen species generation; chronic renal insufficiency OXIDATIVE STRESS, DEFINED as a persistent imbalance between the production of highly reactive molecular species (mainly oxygen and nitrogen) and antioxidant defenses, has been implicated in pathophysiological conditions that affect the cardiovascular system (12,28,35). Increased levels of oxidative stress have been described in experimental models of hypertension (2, 6, 20) and hypertensive patients (22,35).A number of studies in animal models of hypertension demonstrated elevations of blood pressure by stimulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation (24,44,47). Moreover, treatment with a variety of antioxidants reduces blood pressure in several genetic and experimental models of hypertension (4,7,30,40,48). One of the most important biological mechanisms for the production of ROS results from the generation of superoxide (O 2 ·Ϫ ) from O 2 by the enzyme NADPH oxidase (14). Stimulation of NADPH oxidase appears to be the primary source of oxidants in systemic arterial vessels in renovascular hypertension (16), ANG II-induced hypertension (8, 34), DOCA-salt hypertension (42, 49), chronic renal insufficiency (47), and the spontaneously hypertensive rat (49). In humans, NADPH oxidase is the principal source of O 2 ·Ϫ in vascular smooth muscle cells (1...