Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulates interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) gene expression and synthesis in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). IL-1 can also induce PBMC to synthesize IL-1 and TNF alpha. In the present study, we used IL- 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) to determine the relative contribution of an IL-1-positive feedback loop to the total amount of LPS-induced cytokine synthesis. Pretreatment of PBMC with human recombinant IL-1ra reduced LPS-induced cytokine synthesis in a dose-dependent manner (P less than .001). Maximal inhibition was 33% for IL-1 alpha (P less than .01), 43% for IL-1 beta (P = .001), and 20% for TNF alpha (P less than .05). We consistently observed IL-1ra suppression of LPS-induced cytokines in PBMC of 38 volunteers. However, this phenomenon was not specific for LPS; 1 microgram/mL IL-1ra inhibited IL-1 beta synthesized in response to human recombinant IL-2 by 44% (P less than .001), toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 by 26% (P less than .05), and phorbol 12- myristate 13-acetate by 76% (P less than .001). IL-1ra added to PBMC 4 or 8 hours after stimulation with LPS still inhibited IL-1 beta synthesis by 44% (P less than .001) or 25% (P = .01), respectively. The steady state messenger RNA levels of IL-1 beta were reduced in PBMC stimulated by LPS in the presence of IL-1ra. In monocytes isolated by elutriation, IL-1ra reduced LPS-induced IL-1 alpha by 16% (P less than .001), IL-1 beta by 14% (P less than .05), and TNF alpha by 24% (P = .01). We conclude that IL-1-induced IL-1 significantly contributes to LPS-induced cytokine synthesis.