We examine the effects of the recombinant epidermal cytokines interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta), interleukin 3 (IL-3), interleukin 6 (IL-6), granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF), and the effect of the lymphokine gamma interferon (gamma-IFN) on the expression of ICAM-1 in short term organ cultures of newborn human foreskins. In normal skin, ICAM-1 was detected immunohistochemically exclusively on endothelial cells. In addition to enhanced ICAM-1 expression by endothelial cells (at 1 h) and keratinocytes (by 6 h) exposed to gamma-IFN, increased endothelial cell expression also resulted at 24 h after exposure to IL-6 and GM-CSF and at 48 h to M-CSF. Dermal dendritic cell reactivity for ICAM-1 was observed at 24 h after supplementation with IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta and IL-6, and at 48 h with GM-CSF and M-CSF. Incubation with culture medium alone or with IL-3 resulted in no change in baseline ICAM-1 expression on any cell type, and incubation with TNF resulted in enhanced ICAM-1 expression only by endothelial cells. Thus, in skin explants (as opposed to isolated cell in culture), ICAM-1 is induced on various cell types by a wide range of epidermal cytokines, including IL-6, GM-CSF, M-CSF, IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)