Incubation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes with chemoattractants, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) activated both mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Activation by chemoattractants was rapid and transient, being maximal by 1 min and decreasing by 10 min. The order of efficacy was formyl-met-leu-phe > C5a > > LTB4 > interleukin 8 > platelet-activating factor. In contrast, activation by GM-CSF or PMA was slow and sustained being maximal at 5 min and with little decrease by 30 min. Sustained MAPK activation required continuous activation of the MAPKK. The MAPKK induced by N-formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine, GM-CSF, or PMA was resolved into two forms by anion exchange chromatography (Mono Q). Both corresponded to a 45-kDa MAPKK antigen by Western blotting and were inactivated by serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2A. Rechromatography of both forms after dephosphorylation resulted in the antigen's eluting slightly earlier on the Mono Q gradient than when in the active state. However, the two peaks remained separate, suggesting that they are not merely different phosphoforms of the same enzyme. The MAPK cascade is a signaling pathway common to many polymorphonuclear leukocyte stimulants, which may be activated transiently or in a sustained manner.