(+/-)-7,8-Dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene (BP-7,8-diol), a proximate carcinogen derived from benzo[a]pyrene (BP) requires further metabolic activation to exert its carcinogenic effects. Two principal pathways have been implicated, and these involve either the formation of (+/-)-trans-7,8-dihydroxy-9alpha,10alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (anti-BPDE) catalyzed by P450 1A1/P450 1B1 (NADPH-dependent monoxygenases) or the formation of benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-dione (BP-7,8-dione) catalyzed by human aldo-keto reductases AKR1A1 and AKR1C1-AKR1C4 [NAD(P)(H)-dependent oxidoreductases]. The relative contributions of the two pathways to PAH activation are unknown. In this study, BP-7,8-diol metabolism was studied in human bronchoalveolar H358 cell extracts. Parental H358 cells do not constitutively express P450 1A1/P450 1B1 or AKRs but were manipulated by induction with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) to express P450 1A1/P450 1B1 or by stable transfection to express AKR1A1 (aldehyde reductase). TCDD induction of AKR1A1 transfectants provided a cell line that expressed both pathways. Extracts derived from parental H358 cells plus TCDD (P450 induction) produced electrophilic anti-BPDE, which hydrolyzed to benzo[a]pyrene tetrahydrotetrols (BP-tetrols), extracts derived from AKR1A1-transfected cells (AKR1A1 expression) produced reactive and redox-active BP-7,8-dione, which was trapped in situ as its mono(thioether) conjugate, and extracts derived from AKR1A1 transfectants plus TCDD (coexpression of P450 1A1/P450 1B1 and AKR1A1) produced both anti-BPDE and BP-7,8-dione. The competing activation of BP-7,8-diol by P450 1A1/P450 1B1 and AKR1A1 was studied with varied NADPH:NAD+ ratios. The system with a relatively higher concentration of NADPH favored formation of anti-BPDE via P450 1A1/P450 1B1, while the system with the higher concentration of NAD+ favored formation of BP-7,8-dione via AKR1A1. Under conditions that mimic the cellular redox state, 10 microM NADPH and 1 mM NAD+, equal amounts of BP-tetrols and BP-7,8-dione were formed. This suggests that P450 1A1/P450 1B1 and AKR1A1 play competing roles in the metabolic activation of BP-7,8-diol and that the dominant pathway of BP-7,8-diol activation depends on the redox state of the cells. These model systems provide a cellular context in which the dominant DNA adducts/lesions formed by either pathway may be compared.