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DNA cleavage by quinones contained in diesel exhaust particles (DEP) was examined in a cell-free system using supercoiled FX174 DNA as the target DNA. In the presence of Cu(II) and NADPH, 9,10-phenanthrenequinone (PQ) caused the transformation of the supercoiled FX174 DNA into open circular and then linear forms in a concentration-dependent manner. This DNA damage by PQ was decreased by catalase, a superoxide anion scavenger and a Cu(I)-specific chelator, but not by superoxide dismutase and a hydroxyl radical scavenger, suggesting that the ultimate reactive product responsible for the DNA scission may be Cu(I)-OOH generated from hydrogen peroxide and Cu(I) rather than hydroxyl radicals. In addition, 1,2-naphthoquinone (1,2-NQ) damaged DNA more severely than PQ, while 1,4-NQ and 9,10-anthraquinone (AQ) did not induce significant DNA damage. When a purified aldo-keto reductase (AKR) 1C isozyme, which catalyzes the two-electron reduction of PQ, was included in the reaction mixture, the PQ-induced DNA damage became more extensive. Addition of the AKR1C isozyme also increased the 1,2-NQ-induced DNA damage and conferred the ability to cause DNA damage on 1,4-NQ, but had no effect on AQ. The severity of the DNA damage induced by DEP quinones was solely related to both NADPH consumption and reactive oxygen species (ROS) gen-