It has been proposed that reactive oxygen species, and in particular H2O2, may be involved in the activation of NF-kappa B by diverse stimuli in different cell types, Here we have investigated the effect of a range of putative antioxidants on NF-kappa B activation by interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor as well as the ability of H2O2 to activate NF-kappa B in primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells and the transformed human endothelial cell line ECV304. Activation of NF-kappa B and stimulation of I kappa B alpha degradation by H2O2 was only evident in the transformed cells and required much longer contact times than that observed with interleukin-1 or tumor necrosis factor. Furthermore, only H2O2 was sensitive to N-acetyl-L-cysteine, and no increase in H2O2 was detected in response to either cytokine, Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate has been purported to be a specific antioxidant inhibitor of NF-kappa B that acts independently of activating agent or cell type, However, we found that tumor necrosis factor-but not interleukin-1-driven NF-kappa B activation and I kappa B alpha degradation were sensitive to pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate in transformed cells, while neither pathway was inhibited in primary cells, Phorbol ester-mediated activation was sensitive in both transformed and primary cells, Other antioxidants failed to inhibit either cytokine, while the iron chelators desferrioxamine and 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl mimicked the pattern of inhibition seen for the dithiocarbamate, This suggested that pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate was inhibiting NF-kappa B activation in endothelial cells primarily through its iron-chelating properties, Tumor necrosis factor, but not interleukin-1, was found to induce lipid peroxidation in ECV304 cells, This was inhibited by pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate and desferrioxamine, t-Butyl hydroperoxide, which induces lipid peroxidation, activated NF-kappa B, Finally, butylated hydroxyanisole, which inhibits lipid peroxidation but has no iron-chelating properties, inhibited NF-kappa B activation by tumor necrosis factor but not interleukin-1. Taken together, the results argue against a role for H2O2 in NF-kappa B activation by cytokines in endothelial cells, Furthermore, tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-1 activate NF-kappa B through different mechanisms in ECV304 cells, with the tumor necrosis factor pathway involving iron-catalyzed lipid peroxidation.