Recruitment of neutrophils is a common feature in diseases that are associated with mast cell activation. The mechanisms that mediate neutrophil activation are not well understood. IL-8 is a recently described potent chemotactic factor that might be pathogenetically involved in this process. We therefore studied the human mast cell line HMCI and human skin mast cells for their ability to produce IL-8 using various stimuli. IL-8-mRNA was expressed in a stimulus- and time-dependent fashion as detected by Northern blot analysis with an IL-8-specific cDNA probe. The molecular mass of HMCI-derived IL-8 was determined to be about 8 kDa by immunoblot analysis. Immunoreactive and biologically active IL-8 protein was measured in the cell culture supernatants of HMCI cells by an ELISA and a chemotaxis assay, respectively. On immunoelectron microscopy of stimulated skin mast cells, IL-8 was found along cytoplasmatic membranes and in intracellular granules. Our data indicate that mast cells may contribute to neutrophil recruitment by secretion of IL-8.