M-CSF is a macrophage-lineage-specific growth factor that causes proliferation and differentiation of progenitor cells in the bone marrow. To investigate the effects of M-CSF on more matured cells, human monocytes were cultured in the presence or absence of MCSF for 6 days. Addition of M-CSF at more than 102U/ml resulted in higher viability and caused morphological differentiation to large macrophage-like cells. LPS-induced mediator production was also compared between M-CSF-treated and control cell. Monocytes were incubated with or without M-CSF for 3 days, and were stimulated with 1 μg/ml of LPS for 2 days. IL-1β was not detected in the both culture supernatants, and PGE2production was not influenced by M-CSF. However, amounts of G-CSF, GM-CSF, IL-6, and TNF-α produced in response to 1 μg/ml of LPS were 1.5 to 2 times greater from monocytes treated with 104U/ml of M-CSF than from control cells. The priming effect of MCSF on LPS-induced cytokine production was found to require 3-day preincubation, and reached a maximum at the concentration of 104U/ml. M-CSF-treated cells responded to a 10 times lower concentration of LPS than control cells in terms of cytokine production. M-CSF was also shown by flowcytometric analysis to influence the expression of CD14, a receptor for LPS, which might render monocytes more sensitive to LPS.