Primary cultures of rat liver Kupffer cells generated large amounts of superoxide anion radical (O2-.) when subjected to reoxygenation after a hypoxic period of at least 2 h. O2-. formation reached its maximum rate of approximately 25 nmol/10(6) cells within 1 h after reoxygenation. Two to four hours after reoxygenation, the number of injured cells began to increase and after 10 h approximately 60% of the cells were dead. During the period of O2-. release no significant difference in cell viability was observed between reoxygenated and hypoxically incubated cells, indicating a distinct time lag between O2-. release and onset of cell damage. Addition of diphenyliodonium, a specific inhibitor of the neutrophilic NADPH oxidase, to the Kupffer cells just before reoxygenation diminished both O2-. formation and cell injury up to 70%. Reoxygenation injury was completely prevented when superoxide dismutase and catalase were added immediately before reoxygenation. The results indicate that Kupffer cells subjected to hypoxia-reoxygenation generate a burst of reactive oxygen species and that this kind of "activation," probably by activating the NADPH oxidase, contributes to the self-destruction of the cells.