There are conflicting data on the effect of bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) on the function of human neutrophils. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between chemical composition and the modulatory effect of LPS on human neutrophil function. LPS was extracted from five strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from cystic fibrosis patients by the hot phenol-water method. Chemical characterization included neutral sugars, amino components, and fatty acids. Neutrophils isolated from peripheral blood of healthy individuals were preincubated with different concentrations of LPS. After preincubation, the chemotaxis and chemiluminescence of neutrophils to various stimuli were determined. It was shown that LPS from different strains did not exert the same degree of regulatory effect on neutrophil functions. LPS from strain 174-O:9 exerted the most pronounced effect on neutrophil function seen as inhibition of neutrophil chemotaxis toward the chemotactic peptide f-Met-Leu-Phe and zymosan-activated serum (ZAS) and priming of the cells for less than or equal to 8-fold enhancement of chemiluminescence response to f-Met-Leu-Phe. Conversely, LPS from strain 1118-O:3 had no effect on neutrophil chemotaxis and a slight effect on chemiluminescence. The major differences in chemical composition of the LPS from these two strains are in the rhamnose and heptose content of the O side chain and in the alanine content of the core region. These data indicate that chemical composition of the LPS molecule may play an important role in biological activity of LPS.