['Superoxide (O(2)(-)), a key antimicrobial agent in phagocytes, is produced by the activity of NADPH oxidase. High glucose concentrations may, however, impair the production of O(2)(-) through inhibition of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), which catalyzes the formation of NADPH. This study measured the acute effects of high glucose or the G6PD inhibitor dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on the production of O(2)(-) from isolated human neutrophils.', 'Laboratory studies of short-term cultures of neutrophil granulocytes.', 'Healthy subjects.', 'Neutrophils were isolated from peripheral blood and incubated for 1 h in Krebs-Ringer buffer containing 5, 10, or 25 mM glucose, 5 mM glucose with 0, 5, or 20 mM mannitol, or 5 mM glucose with 0, 1, 10, or 100 micro M DHEA. O(2)(-) production was induced by N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine and measured by the cytochrome c reduction assay. Potential scavenging of O(2)(-) by glucose, mannitol, or DHEA was assessed in a cell free system using the pyrogallol assay.', 'Incubation of neutrophils with glucose dose-dependently reduced O(2)(-) production, which was 50% decreased at 25 mM glucose. Also DHEA reduced the production of O(2)(-) dose-dependently, whereas production rates were unaffected by mannitol. Neither glucose, mannitol, nor DHEA scavenged O(2)(-).'] Does high glucose impair superoxide production from isolated blood neutrophils?