We have used a cytofluorometric method to study the effect of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) priming on the oxidative burst, FMLP- receptor expression and actin polymerization of whole blood polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). This technique permits the study of single cells and, thus, allowed us to examine the responsiveness of PMN to TNF in whole blood. We found that TNF in whole blood strongly primed a subpopulation of PMN to produce H2O2 in response to FMLP stimulation, whereas TNF and FMLP alone did not have a significant effect. Furthermore, adding TNF to whole blood increased the capacity of a subpopulation of PMN to bind N-formyl peptides at 4 degrees C, a phenomenon that could account, at least in part, for the strong H2O2 production in response to FMLP after TNF priming. Dual-color cytometric analysis showed that TNF primed actin polymerization on the same subpopulation in response to FMLP. Because the PMN subpopulation, which strongly bound N-formyl peptides at 4 degrees C, was no longer detectable after 1 minute of incubation at 37 degrees C, our data suggest that TNF treatment of PMN in whole blood primes a subpopulation that actively cycles FMLP receptors. These results suggest that PMN in the circulation may respond weakly to bacterial peptides and that TNF may play a critical role in the induction of the oxidative burst in vivo.