Poly(ADPR) polymerase (PARP; EC 2.4.2.30) is a nuclear enzyme, which, when activated by oxygen- and nitrogen-radical-induced DNA strand breaks, transfers ADP ribose units to nuclear proteins and initiates apoptosis by depletion of cellular NAD and ATP pools. The present study investigates whether the oxidative stress-dependent activation of PARP plays a role in the etiopathogenesis of arthritis. The antiarthritic reactivity of the biogenic PARP inhibitor nicotinamide was tested in DBA/1 x B10A(4R) mice suffering from potassium peroxochromate-induced arthritis. Daily doses of 4 mmol/kg of NA suppressed the arthritis by 35% and inhibited the phagocytic generation of reactive oxygen species, which increases sixfold during the development of arthritis. The onset, progression, and remission of arthritis correlated positively to the phorbolester-activated respiratory burst of neutrophils and monocytes, and a dose-dependent inhibition of NADPH oxidase activity was determined with human phagocytes. Our data support the hypothesis that oxidative stress-induced alterations in cellular signal transduction pathways play a pivotal role in the development of arthritis, which can be suppressed by the simultaneous inhibition of poly(ADPR) polymerase and NADPH oxidase.