Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) induces expression of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) but lymphotoxin  (LT) does not. Here we report that priming of cells with agonistic LT receptor antibody synergistically enhanced TNF-induced GM-CSF expression. The LT priming process was not due to an increase in TNF-mediated nuclear translocation of p65, p65 DNA binding, or NF-B transactivational activity. The synergistic effect of LT priming was not observed with other TNF-responsive genes such as Ccl2 or RelB, which suggested that this effect was not a general increase in TNF signaling. Furthermore, RelB and p65 were both independently recruited to the GM-CSF promoter when cells were primed with LT followed by TNF treatment. As a consequence, an increase in both chromatin accessibility and the recruitment of RNA polymerase II were observed to the GM-CSF promoter. Taken together, these findings suggested that LT signaling amplified TNF-mediated GM-CSF expression by facilitating chromatin access and the co-recruitment of RNA polymerase II to increase gene transcription. Moreover, the novel priming process described here underscores the complexity of the interactions between the classical and alternative NF-B signaling pathways.