Endotoxin (ET) induces neutrophil sequestration in hepatic sinusoids, the activation of proinflammatory transcription factors (nuclear factor KB [NF-kappaB]) with up-regulation of adhesion molecules on sinusoidal endothelial cells and hepatocytes. However, if galactosamine (Gal) is co-administered with ET, neutrophils transmigrate and attack parenchymal cells. This suggests that a signal from parenchymal cells triggers neutrophil transmigration. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that parenchymal cell apoptosis may induce neutrophil transendothelial migration in the Gal/ET model. Treatment of C3Heb/FeJ mice with 700 mg/kg Gal and 100 microg/kg ET induced tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) formation (13.25 +/- 0.75 ng/mL) and hepatic NF-kappaB activation at 90 minutes; the generation of the C-X-C chemokine KC (2.86 +/- 0.30 ng/mL at 5 hours); sinusoidal neutrophil sequestration (380 +/- 21 polymorphonuclear leukocytes/50 high-power fields) and apoptosis (925% +/- 29% increase of DNA fragmentation; and a 45-fold increase of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells) at 6 hours, followed by transmigration of neutrophils and development of substantial necrosis (38% +/- 3% of hepatocytes; alanine transaminase [ALT]: 1,500 +/- 300 U/L) at 7 hours. Administration of uridine (1,000 mg/kg) did not reduce plasma levels of TNF-alpha and KC, NF-kappaB activation, or polymorphonuclear leukocyte sequestration, but attenuated apoptosis by 90% to 94%. In these livers, neutrophils did not transmigrate and liver injury was prevented (necrosis: < 5%; ALT: 40 +/- 3 U/L). However, massive apoptosis and liver injury initiated by the anti-Fas antibody, Jo2, did not recruit neutrophils into the liver. We conclude that excessive parenchymal cell apoptosis represents an important signal for transmigration of primed neutrophils sequestered in sinusoids during endotoxemia in vivo. However, apoptosis per se does not cause neutrophil sequestration in the liver vasculature.