In a previous study, we have shown that the ability of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to prime isolated neutrophils for enhanced leukotriene B4 (LTB4) synthesis was dependent on the presence of plasma and involved the CD 14 antigen. In the present study, we have investigated the priming of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with LPS for the subsequent release and metabolism of arachidonic acid. When PBMC were incubated with LPS for up to 2 h or when freshly isolated PBMC were stimulated with N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) or with LPS alone, little or no synthesis of 5-lipoxygenase products nor arachidonic acid liberation were detected. However, the preincubation of PBMC with LPS for as little as 5 min primed cells for the subsequent synthesis of LTB4 upon stimulation with fMLP. Maximal priming was observed following a 15-min preincubation period and the priming effect was transient as cells preincubated with LPS for 90 min or more were no longer primed for leukotriene synthesis. Monocytes were found to be responsible for the enhanced response to fMLP since purified lymphocytes did not produce LTB4 nor LTC4 in contrast to monocyte-enriched suspensions. The priming for leukotriene synthesis coincided with an increased capacity for the release of free arachidonic acid as measured by mass spectrometry; LPS-primed cells released 8-15 times more arachidonic acid than unprimed cells within 1 min of stimulation with fMLP. Priming was observed with as little as 0.001-0.01 microg LPS/mL when cells were incubated in the presence of 10% autologous plasma. Interestingly, in the absence of plasma, priming was only observed at LPS concentrations of 0.1 microg/mL or greater. Pretreatment of cells with anti-CD14 antibodies significantly decreased the priming effect observed with 0.01 microg/mL LPS but did not affect priming with 1 microg/mL LPS. These results indicate that the priming of human PBMC with LPS for the subsequent synthesis of arachidonic acid metabolites via the 5-lipoxygenase pathway is dependent on plasma and CD14 at lower concentrations of LPS (0.001-0.01 microg/mL) but not at LPS concentrations of 0.1 microg/mL or greater.