Airway epithelial cells can be modulated by cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-1 beta that are released from inflammatory cells. Since ciliary motility is an important host defense function of airway epithelium, we hypothesized that cytokines, released from lung macrophages, upregulate ciliary motility. To test this hypothesis, ciliary beat frequency (CBF) was measured by video microscopy in cultured ciliated bovine bronchial epithelial cells (BBECs) incubated for 24 h with bovine alveolar macrophage-conditioned medium (AM-CM). Exposure to AM-CM resulted in a delayed (> or = 2 h) increase in CBF that was maximal after 24 h exposure (13.70 +/- 0.43 for AM-CM vs. 9.44 +/- 0.24 Hz for medium; P < 0.0001) and which was largely blocked by either anti-TNF-alpha or anti-IL-1 beta antibodies. rTNF-alpha or rIL-1 beta similarly increased CBF, which could be blocked by preincubation with either anti-rTNF-alpha or anti-rIL-1 beta antibodies. Preincubation of BBECs with actinomycin D or dexamethasone also blocked rTNF-alpha- and rIL-1 beta-induced cilia stimulation, suggesting that new protein synthesis is required for cytokine-induced upregulation of CBF. Since NO is known to upregulate ciliary motility and cytokines can induce NO synthase (NOS), we hypothesized that TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta increase CBF by inducing NOS in BBECs. The cilia stimulatory effects of TNF-alpha or IL-1 beta were inhibited by NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, a competitive NOS inhibitor, and restored by the addition of either L-arginine, an NOS substrate, or sodium nitroprusside, an NO donor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)