Mycoplasmas are capable of stimulating monocytes and macrophages to release cytokines, prostaglandins, and nitric oxide. The aim of this study was to characterize the chemical nature of the previously isolated [Mühlradt, P. F., & Frisch, M. (1994) Infect. Immun. 62, 3801-3807] macrophage-stimulating material "MDHM" from Mycoplasma fermentans. Mycoplasmas were delipidated, and MDHM activity was extracted with octyl glucoside and further purified by reversed-phase HPLC. Macrophage-stimulating activity was monitored by nitric oxide release from peritoneal macrophages from C3H/HeJ endotoxin low responder mice. HPLC-purified MDHM was rechromatographed on an analytic scale RP 18 column before and after proteinase K treatment. Proteinase treatment did not diminish biological activity but shifted MDHM elution toward higher lipophilicity, suggesting that the macrophage-stimulating activity might reside in the lipopeptide moiety of a lipoprotein. Proteinase K-treated MDHM was hydrolyzed, amino groups were dansylated, and the dansylated material was isolated by HPLC. Dansylated S-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)cystein (glycerylcystein thioether), typical for Braun's murein lipoprotein, and Dns-Gly and Dns-Thr were identified by tandem mass spectrometry. These amino acids were isolated from biologically active but not from the neighboring inactive HPLC fractions. IR spectra from proteinase K-treated, HPLC-purified MDHM and those from the synthetic lipopeptide [2,3-bis(palmitoyloxy)-(2-RS)-propyl]-N-palmitoyl-(R)-CysSerSer AsnAla were very similar. The data, taken together, indicate that lipoproteins of a nature previously detected in eubacteria are expressed in M. fermentans and that at least one of these lipoproteins and a lipopeptide derived from it constitute the macrophage-activating principle MDHM from these mycoplasmas.