Equine laminar tissues do not contain resident neutrophils and have less superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity than other equine tissues, which makes them inherently more vulnerable to damage induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by neutrophils that enter the tissues. In the advanced clinical stages of acute laminitis, pathologic events in affected feet include a breakdown in the basement membrane, neutrophil infiltration, and platelet-neutrophil aggregates in laminar dermal veins, highlighting the contribution of neutrophils to the pathophysiology of the disease. The aim of this study was to determine the role of p38 MAPK in the mechanism underlying equine neutrophil migration to potentially reveal therapeutic targets that may limit lamellar damage from the neutrophil influx that occurs in acute laminitis. We determined that the endogenous chemoattractant LTB(4) transiently activated p38 MAPK and induced chemotaxis of equine primary neutrophils. Inhibition with the p38 MAPK specific inhibitor SB203580 reduced LTB(4)-induced migration in a dose-dependent manner with an IC(50) of 2.8 microM. We then examined the potential mechanisms underlying the ability of SB203580 to abolish migration. We determined that inhibition of p38 MAPK with 10 microM SB203580 disrupted the ability of neutrophils to polarize in response to LTB(4) and PAF. In contrast, p38 MAPK did not appear to be required for chemoattractant- or PKC-induced beta2 integrin-dependent adhesion or chemoattractant-induced upregulation of surface beta2 integrins, but was required for TNFalpha-induced adhesion. These findings support a function for p38 MAPK in equine neutrophil migration and suggest the potential for the ability of p38 MAPK inhibition to limit neutrophilic inflammation in the laminae during acute laminitis.