Rats with streptozotocin-diabetes develop mechanisms of endogenous protection (MEP) that participate actively in functional remodeling of cardiac sarcolemma. Remodeling of sarcolemma is a sign of damage but it also protects the cells of the diabetic heart (DH) against additional energy disbalance due to excessive Ca(2+) entry. Since yet, cardiac mitochondria (MIT) were investigated predominantly from the aspect of damage only. Aims of the present study were: i) to distinguish between acute diabetes-induced changes in function of rat heart MIT which clearly belong to damage from those that reflect the MEP and participate in functional remodeling of the MIT; ii) elucidate the significance of MEP-induced changes in heart MIT for cardiac energetics. Acute diabetes (8 days) was induced in adult male Wistar rats by streptozotocin (STZ, 65 mg.kg(-1) i.p., single dose). On the day 8 after STZ administration, the diabetic animals exhibited 300-330 % increase in blood glucose, triacylglycerols and cholesterol as well as 89.6 % increase in glycohemoglobin (all p < 0.01). The blood level of insulin dropped by 53 % (p < 0.02). State 3 and state 4 oxygen consumptions of DH MIT were decreased against the controls, leading to drop of the respiratory control index (17.9 and 7.3 %) and oxidative phosphorylation rate (OPR, 27.5 and 24.6 %; all p < 0.003-0.02). These effects of damage yielding in strained energy balance of the acute DH were partially alleviated by MEP. The latter involved temporary preservation of the ADP : O ratio, with participation of elevated MIT Mg(2+)-ATPase activity as well as increased formation of MIT substrate and energy transition pores (both p < 0.05). Hence, the energy disbalance of the acute DH was finally manifested in 13 % loss in its AMP content only (p < 0.05). Results indicate that MIT in STZ-DH are functionally remodeled. Defective O2 consumption by MIT renders molecular changes suggestive of a mild hypoxic state but an increase in Mg(2+)-ATPase activity and facilitated energy delivery from MIT to the cytoplasm indicate the presence of MEP acting in the MIT and alleviating the effect of decreased oxidative energy production in the acute DH.