An endocrine disruptor, para-nonylphenol (NP), caused a dose-dependent stimulatory effect on the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human whole blood from 50 to 1000 microM, which was measured by chemiluminescence generation. ROS-scavenging enzymes such as catalase and superoxide dismutase, and the lipophilic antioxidative agents, alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene, showed preventive effects on NP-induced ROS generation. To analyze the biochemical mechanism of NP-induced ROS generation in human blood, we investigated the effects of different types of metabolic inhibitors on the activation pathways of ROS generation. An NADPH-dependent oxidase inhibitor, diphenyl iodonium chloride (DPI), and a myeloperoxidase inhibitor, sodium azide (NaN3), showed remarkable inhibitory effects on ROS generation induced by NP, but an inhibitor against mitochondrial respiratory function, potassium cyanide (KCN), did not exhibit a significant effect. Furthermore, a phosphatidylinositol-3 (PI3) kinase inhibitor, wortmannin, and a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, protein phosphorylation inhibitor 1 (PP1), caused a strong suppression of NP-induced ROS generation. Selective protein kinase C inhibitor, Ro-32-0432, p38 MAP kinase inhibitor, SB-203580, and ERK MAP kinase inhibitor, PD 98059, showed significant suppressive effects on NP-induced ROS generation. In addition, when human blood was exposed to lower concentrations (5-50 microM) of NP, they did not cause the significant ROS generation by themselves, but the priming and synergistic effects of NP were detected by the addition of secondary stimulants, opsonized zymosan (OZ) or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). The analysis of the priming and synergistic effects of NP on OZ- or PMA-dependent ROS generation by antioxidative substances and metabolic inhibitors showed similar results compared with those of human blood treated with NP alone. These results suggest that NP causes an enhancing effect by itself, or priming and synergistic effects on ROS generation in human blood with other inflammatory stimulants through the activation of signal transduction pathways such as protein kinase cascades.