We reported that PARP-1 exhibits differential roles in expression of inflammatory factors. Here, we show that PARP-1 deletion was associated with a significant reduction in inflammatory cell recruitment to mouse airways upon intratracheal administration of LPS. However, PARP-1 deletion exerted little effect in response to TNF exposure. LPS induced massive neutrophilia and moderate recruitment of macrophages, and TNF induced recruitment of primarily macrophages with smaller numbers of neutrophils in the lungs. Following either exposure, macrophage recruitment was blocked severely in PARP-1(-/-) mice, and this was associated with a marked reduction in MCP-1 and MIP-1alpha. This association was corroborated partly by macrophage recruitment in response to intratracheal administration of MCP-1 in PARP-1(-/-) mice. Surprisingly, although neutrophil recruitment was reduced significantly in LPS-treated PARP-1(-/-) mice, neutrophil numbers increased in TNF-treated mice, suggesting that PARP-1 deletion may promote a macrophagic-to-neutrophilic shift in the inflammatory response upon TNF exposure. Neutrophil-specific chemokines mKC and MIP-2 were reduced significantly in lungs of LPS-treated but only partially reduced in TNF-treated PARP-1(-/-) mice. Furthermore, the MIP-2 antagonist abrogated the shift to a neutrophilic response in TNF-exposed PARP-1(-/-) mice. Although CXCR2 expression increased in response to either stimulus in PARP-1(+/+) mice, the DARC increased only in lungs of TNF-treated PARP-1(+/+) mice; both receptors were reduced to basal levels in treated PARP-1(-/-) mice. Our results show that the balance of pro-neutrophilic or pro-macrophagic stimulatory factors and the differential influence of PARP-1 on these factors are critical determinants for the nature of the airway inflammatory response.