In neutrophils, N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (FMLP) stimulates a respiratory burst with subsequent generation of superoxide anion (O2-.) by NADPH oxidase. Signal transduction involved in this process includes FMLP receptor stimulation of phosphoinositide hydrolysis with formation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and diacylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis with formation of phosphatidic acid. Generation of these second messengers would lead to activation of NADPH oxidase and generation of O2-.. Neutrophils from diabetic subjects and normal neutrophils exposed to glucose have diminished ability to activate the respiratory burst in response to various agonists. The mechanism of this suppression remains unknown. We report herein that treatment of neutrophils with 15 and 50 mM glucose significantly suppresses the O2-. formation in response to receptor-mediated stimulation. The decreased O2-. generation is associated with marked inhibition of phospholipase D (PLD) activity, with limited hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine and formation of phosphatidic acid. Sorbitol (50 mM), a nonmetabolizable sugar with a similar osmotic effect, has no influence on O2-. generation or PLD activation. The 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced O2-. generation as well as PLD activation are unaffected by glucose. Furthermore, the intracellular Ca2+ transient in response to FMLP is not influenced by glucose. Taken together, these data suggest that glucose differentially interferes with activation of PLD but not phospholipase C. And, the fact that PMA-induced activation of PLD is not altered by glucose further suggests that a protein kinase C independent step leading to the activation of PLD may be altered by glucose.