IL-1 and TNF are important mediators in the inflammatory response, and have been associated with endothelial cell damage in the lung. TNF and IL-1 cell-mediated injury has been proposed to occur through an increase in intracellular oxygen free radical production. However, these cytokines have also been shown to protect the lung from hyperoxia-mediated oxidant injury. In this paper we evaluated the response of the antioxidant enzymes, MnSOD and Cu/ZnSOD to IL-1, TNF, and LPS in both rat pulmonary artery and microvascular endothelial cells. These mediators produced an increase in MnSOD but not Cu/ZnSOD expression in both rat pulmonary endothelial cells. An additive effect was observed with co-treatment by the cytokines with LPS. The MnSOD mRNA induction is dependent upon a transcriptional event, but did not require de novo protein synthesis.