Induction of cytochrome P4501A1 (CYPlA1) in the hepatoma Hepalclc7 cell line results in an elevation in the excretion rate of 8-oxoguanine (oxo8Gua), a biomarker of oxidative DNA damage and the major repair product of 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (oxo8dG) residues in DNA. Treatment of this cell line with 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-p-dibenzodioxin (TCDD), a nonmetabolized environmental contaminant, and indolo(3,2-b)carbazole (ICZ), a metabolite of a natural pesticide found in cruciferous vegetables, is shown to both induce CYPlAl activity and elevate the excretion rate of oxo8Gua; 7,8-benzoflavone (7,8-BF or ai-naphthoflavone), an inhibitor of CYPlAl activity and an antagonist of the aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor, reduced the excretion rate of oxo8Gua. The essential role of Ah-receptor, which mediates the induction of CYPlAl, is shown by the inability of TCDD to induce CYPlAl and to increase excretion of oxo8Gua in Ah receptor-defective c4 mutant cells. While there was a significant 7.0-fold increase over 2 days in the excretion rate of oxo8Gua into the growth medium of TCDD-treated Hepalclc7 cells compared to control, no significant increase was detected in the steady-state level of oxo8dG in the DNA presumably due to efficient DNA repair. Thus, the induction of CYPlAl appears to lead to a leak ofoxygen radicals and consequent oxidative DNA damage that could lead to mutation and cancer.Cytochrome P450 (CYP) is a family of enzymes involved in the oxidative metabolism of both synthetic and natural compounds (1, 2). Humans are exposed to many CYP inducers (3-6) from eating plant chemicals such as indolo(3,2-b)carbazole (ICZ), from broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables (5), and also from environmental contaminants such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). It is possible that the carcinogenic effects of TCDD (7,8) and phenobarbital (9) may, in part, reside in the capacity of the induced CYP enzymes to leak oxidants and thus promote cell division (10) and oxidative DNA damage.The mechanisms of CYPlAl induction by TCDD (11-13) and its involvement in the metabolism of xenobiotics (4, 14, 15) has been investigated extensively. The CYP catalytic cycle involves binding of the substrate followed by binding and activation of molecular oxygen to a reactive intermediate, which hydroxylates the substrate. Most studies designed to investigate the toxicological consequences of CYP induction have been directed toward understanding pathways by which substrate molecules are bioactivated to reactive and genotoxic compounds. The formation of hydrogen peroxide and water as end products of CYP catalysis has been well described (16-21), but the biological consequences of this oxidant leakage from CYP in vivo has received relatively little attention. A postulated mechanism of production of activated 02 is the autoxidation of the oxycytochrome P450 complex, generating superThe publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance...