Comparative investigation of the susceptibility of intact and primed neutrophils of the NMRI strain mice to low intensity millimeter wave (mm wave) irradiation (41.95 GHz) was performed. The specific absorption rate was 0.45 W/kg. Isolated neutrophils were primed by a chemotactic peptide N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) at a subthreshold concentration of 10 nM for 20 min, and then the cells were activated by 1 microM fMLP. Production of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) was estimated by the luminol dependent chemiluminescence technique. It was found that the preliminary mm wave irradiation of the resting cells at 20 degrees C did not act on the ROS production induced by the chemotactic peptide. The exposure of the primed cells results in a subsequent increase in the fMLP response. Therefore, the primed neutrophils are susceptible to the mm waves. Specific inhibitors of the protein kinases abolished the mm wave effect on the primed cells. The data indicate that protein kinases actively participate in transduction of the mm wave signal to effector molecules involved in neutrophil respiratory burst.