NG,NG-dimethylarginine is an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis produced by endothelial cells and found in the plasma and urine of normal adults. We have examined the ability of NG, NG-dimethylarginine, produced by endothelial cells (SGHEC-7), to regulate the production of nitric oxide by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated mouse macrophage cells (J774.2). Stimulation of SGHEC-7 or J774.2 cells with lipopolysaccharide had no effect on their release of NG,NG-dimethylarginine into the culture supernatant. Stimulation of J774.2 cells with lipopolysaccharide for 24 h significantly stimulated nitric oxide production by J774.2 but not SGHEC-7 cells. When lipopolysaccharide-stimulated J774.2 cells were co-cultured with endothelial cells for 24 h, there was a significant inhibition of nitrite accumulation. The inhibition observed was dependent on the endothelial cell number (12 +/- 5% [mean +/- SEM] following incubation with 0.6 x 105 cells, up to 47 +/- 8% with 4.8 x 105 cells). The inhibitory effect of endothelial cells was prevented by incubation with increasing concentrations of L-arginine; the IC50 was 2.9 +/- 0.6 mM arginine. Western blot analysis indicated that the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase was not inhibited by co-culture with SGHEC-7 cells. The results presented here demonstrate that NG,NG-dimethylarginine synthesized by endothelial cells may inhibit nitric oxide synthase in adjacent cells and play a role in the regulation of nitric oxide synthesis by macrophages.