Granulocyte (PMN) concentrates collected for transfusion to septic, neutropenic patients are stored in the blood bank for various periods of time before they are given. Current methods of blood bank storage of PMN concentrates are associated with impaired in vitro PMN chemotaxis (CTX) and in vivo recovery and circulation kinetics after 24 hours of storage. This suggested the possibility that PMN may become hyperadherent during storage. To test this hypothesis, PMN concentrates were harvested and stored at both 22 and 6 degrees C and their adherence properties to relevant biologic surfaces, endothelial cell (EC) monolayers, and extracellular matrix (ECM) derived from endothelium were measured. Adherence was measured within 4 hours of collection and after 24 and 48 hours of storage. The aggregation properties of fresh and stored PMN were also studied. The adherence of fresh, unstimulated PMN to EC and ECM (31 +/- 5% and 34 +/- 4%, respectively) increased significantly after storage for 24 hours (EC = 41 +/- 8%; ECM = 43 +/- 4%) at 22 degrees C. F-Met-Leu-Phe (FMLP) stimulated the adherence of fresh PMN (EC = 37 +/- 4%; ECM = 42 +/- 4%; p less than 0.05). The adherence of PMN stored at 22 degrees C was further stimulated by FMLP (EC = 46 +/- 6%; ECM = 50 +/- 4%). PMN stored at 6 degrees C had significantly higher adherence than PMN stored at 22 degrees C, and the percentage of increase in adherence induced by FMLP was attenuated in PMN stored at 6 degrees C.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)