We have compared the effects of a number of inhibitors including aphidicolin, 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) and novobiocin on the in vitro cytotoxicity of several topoisomerase II (topo II)-directed agents, using cultured murine Lewis lung carcinoma cells. These agents comprised amsacrine, CI-921 (9-[(2-methoxy-4-methylsulfonylamino)phenylamino]-N,5-dimethyl-4- acridinecarboxamide isethionate, isethionate, a derivative of amsacrine), DACA (N-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]acridine-4-carboxamide dihydrochloride, a new DNA intercalator with high solid tumor activity), daunorubicin, doxorubicin, epirubicin, etoposide, mitoxantrone, and teniposide. Novobiocin, an antibiotic that affects topo II action, reduced the cytotoxic effect of DACA as well as that of amsacrine and doxorubicin, and reduced the extent of G2-phase arrest by DACA. DNP, an uncoupler of mitochondrial respiration, inhibited drug action in a manner similar to that of novobiocin but to a smaller extent. Aphidicolin, a specific inhibitor of DNA polymerase-alpha, reduced the cytotoxic effect of amsacrine, CI-921, etoposide, and teniposide but not that of DACA, daunorubicin, doxorubicin, epirubicin, or mitoxantrone. The immediate effect of each topo II-directed agent on the incorporation of thymidine into DNA was also measured at a drug concentration (D10) that killed 90% of cells. Susceptibility to aphidicolin reversal was strongly correlated with inhibition of thymidine incorporation (r = 0.91; p < or = 0.001). The results suggest that the involvement of DNA replication in the cytotoxic action of topo II-directed agents differs according to the agent used.