Exposures of cultured whole rat conceptuses during organogenesis to 3-methylcholanthrene (MC; 0.025-25 microM), 5,6-benzoflavone (BNF; 5-100 microM) or benz[a]anthracene (BA; 5-100 microM) were effected by placement of each of these "MC-type" inducing agents in the culture medium at the time of explantation on day 9.5 of gestation. Conceptuses were then cultured for 48 hr and evaluated on day 11.5 for increased expression of inducible conceptal cytochrome P450 (P450). The three agents each elicited concentration-dependent increases in 7,8-benzoflavone (ANF)-inhibitable ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activities and increased P4501A1 mRNA as detected by primer-specific reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in cell-free preparations of the treated, cultured conceptuses. At effective inducing concentrations, dysmorphogenic or other embryotoxic effects were not detectable. At 20 microM concentrations, the three agents exhibited roughly equal induction that was approximately equivalent in magnitude (6- to 13-fold) to that achieved previously with exposures to MC in utero. Additions to the culture medium of 2.5 to 10 microM concentrations of dexamethasone (DEX) did not alter significantly the magnitude of MC-elicited induction in vitro. Repeated full-length sequencing of an RT-PCR-amplified cDNA revealed a coding region sequence identical to that reported for the P4501A1 sequence from adult rat liver. The results provide a basis for investigations, in the absence of maternal influences, of the regulation of mammalian conceptal P4501A1 in intact tissues during organogenesis, a gestational period critical in terms of the dysmorphogenic and other embryotoxic effects of foreign organic chemicals. The results are also pertinent to studies of embryotoxicity, particularly to the transplacental carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and dysmorphogenicity of P4501A1 substrates.