Challenge of human peripheral blood leukocytes with ionophore A23187 resulted in leukotriene (LT) synthesis, a decrease in total cellular 5-lipoxygenase activity, and a change in the subcellular localization of the enzyme. In homogenates from control cells, greater than 90% of the 5-lipoxygenase activity and protein was localized in the cytosol (100,000 X g supernatant). Ionophore challenge (2 microM) resulted in a loss of approximately 55% of the enzymatic activity and 35% of the enzyme protein from the cytosol. Concomitantly, there was an accumulation of inactive 5-lipoxygenase in the membrane (100,000 X g pellets) which accounted for at least 45% of the lost cytosolic protein. There was a good correlation between the quantities of LT synthesized and 5-lipoxygenase recovered in the membrane over an ionophore concentration range of 0.1-6 microM. The time course of the membrane association was similar to that of LT synthesis. Furthermore, although the pellet-associated enzyme recovered from ionophore-treated leukocytes was inactive, an irreversible, Ca2+-dependent membrane association of active 5-lipoxygenase could be demonstrated in cell-free systems. To determine whether ionophore treatment induced proteolytic degradation of 5-lipoxygenase, the total activity and protein content of 10,000 X g supernatants from control and ionophore-treated cells were examined. These supernatants, which included both cytosolic and membrane-associated enzyme, showed a 35% loss of 5-lipoxygenase activity but only an 8% loss of enzyme protein as a result of ionophore challenge (2 microM). Therefore, the majority of the loss of 5-lipoxygenase activity was most likely due to suicide inactivation during the LT synthesis, rather than to proteolytic degradation. Together these results are consistent with the hypothesis that ionophore treatment results in a Ca2+-dependent translocation of 5-lipoxygenase from the cytosol to a membrane-bound site, that the membrane-associated enzyme is preferentially utilized for LT synthesis, and that it is consequently inactivated. Thus, membrane translocation of 5-lipoxygenase may be an important initial step in the chain of events leading to full activation of this enzyme in the intact leukocyte.