Pulse treatment of U-937 promonocytic cells with cadmium chloride (2 h at 200 M) provoked apoptosis and induced a rapid phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK ) as well as a late phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERK1/2). However, although the p38 MAPK -specific inhibitor SB203580 attenuated apoptosis, the process was not affected by the ERK-specific inhibitor PD98059. The attenuation of the cadmium-provoked apoptosis by SB203580 was a highly specific effect. In fact, the kinase inhibitor did not prevent the generation of apoptosis by heat shock and camptothecin, nor the generation of necrosis by cadmium treatment of glutathione-depleted cells, nor the cadmium-provoked activation of the stress response. The generation of apoptosis was preceded by intracellular H 2 O 2 accumulation and was accompanied by the disruption of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, both of which were inhibited by SB203580. On the other hand, the antioxidant agent butylated hydroxyanisole-inhibited apoptosis but did not prevent p38 MAPK phosphorylation. In a similar manner, p38 MAPK phosphorylation was not affected by the caspase inhibitors Z-VAD and DEVD-CHO, which nevertheless prevented apoptosis. These results indicate that p38 MAPK activation is an early and specific regulatory event for the cadmium-provoked apoptosis in promonocytic cells.Cadmium and other heavy metals are frequent environmental contaminants with well known mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic effects (1). Another property of heavy metals (and of other physical and chemical agents, such as heat and inhibitors of energy metabolism) is the capacity to induce the stress response, characterized by the synthesis and accumulation of heat-shock proteins (HSPs)