Etoposide (VP-16) is an antitumor drug currently in use for the treatment of a number of human cancers. Mechanisms of VP-16 cytotoxicity involve DNA breakage secondary to inhibition of DNA topoisomerase II and/or direct drug-induced DNA strand cleavage. The VP-16 molecule contains a hindered phenolic group which is crucial for its antitumor activity because its oxidation yields reactive metabolites (quinones) capable of irreversible binding to macromolecular targets. VP-16 phenoxyl radical is an essential intermediate in VP-16 oxidative activation and can be either converted to oxidation products or reduced by intracellular reductants to its initial phenolic form. In the present paper we demonstrate that the tyrosinase-induced VP-16 phenoxyl radical could be reduced by ascorbate, glutathione (GSH) and dihydrolipoic acid. These reductants caused a transient disappearance of a characteristic VP-16 phenoxyl radical ESR signal which reappeared after depletion of the reductant. The reductants completely prevented VP-16 oxidation by tyrosinase during the lag-period as measured by high performance liquid chromatography; after the lag-period VP-16 oxidation proceeded with the rate observed in the absence of reductants. In homogenates of human K562 leukemic cells, the tyrosinase-induced VP-16 phenoxyl radical ESR signal could be observed only after a lag-period whose duration was dependent on cell concentration; VP-16 oxidation proceeded in cell homogenates after this lag-period. In homogenates of isolated nuclei, the VP-16 phenoxyl radical and VP-16 oxidation were also detected after a lag-period, which was significantly shorter than that observed for an equivalent amount of cells. In both cell homogenates and in nuclear homogenates, the duration of the lag period could be increased by exogenously added reductants. The duration of the lag-period for the appearance of the VP-16 phenoxyl radical signal in the ESR spectrum can be used as a convenient measure of cellular reductive capacity. Interaction of the VP-16 phenoxyl radical with intracellular reductants may be critical for its metabolic activation and cytotoxic effects.