Monocytes (m phi s) come into intimate contact with basement membranes and extracellular matrix proteins as they extravasate from the blood to the interstitium or to sites of tissue injury. We examined the in vitro effects of m phi adherence to an endothelial cell-derived basement membrane or to purified extracellular matrix proteins on phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-stimulated superoxide production and prostanoid secretion. Elutriation-purified human peripheral blood m phi s were adhered to tissue culture wells that were precoated with the following purified proteins: bovine serum albumin (BSA), collagen type I (COL I), collagen type IV (COL IV), fibronectin (FN), or laminin (LM). To model the provisional matrix at sites of tissue injury, m phi s were also adhered to wells coated with either denatured collagen type I or gelatin (GEL) or coated with basement membrane (BM) derived from endothelial cell monolayers. The m phi s were adhered to the protein-coated surfaces for 1 h at 37 degrees C in serum-free medium and washed to remove nonadherent cells, and the number of adherent m phi s was measured. Monolayers of m phi s were also incubated for an additional 18 h, at which time both adherence and cell spreading were measured. PMA-stimulated superoxide production by adherent m phi s was determined after 1 and 18 h of adherence to the protein-coated surfaces. PMA-stimulated release of two prostanoids, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and thromboxane B2 (TxB2) was measured after 18 h of m phi adherence to the surfaces. Following 18 h of adherence, PMA-stimulated superoxide anion secretion and secretion of PGE2 and TxB2 were augmented of primed by m phi s adherent to COL I, GEL, or BM. In contrast, no such priming effects were observed by m phi s adherent to COL IV, FN, or LM. The results suggest that adherence to basement membranes, collagen type I-containing surfaces in the interstitium, or denatured collagen at sites of tissue injury primes m phi respiratory burst and arachidonate metabolism to inflammatory agonists. Induction of priming events by substrate-specific adherence may be an important factor regulating host defense functions of m phi s in the extracellular matrix.