In vitro effects of acetone, methanol, and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) on liver microsomal cytochrome P450 (P450) content, and P450-dependent arylhydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) and 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase (ECOD) activities were studied in rats. Acetone at 1% (v/v) enhanced the content ofP450, assayed spectrally in 3-methylcholanethrene (MC)- and ${eta}-naphthoflavone$ (BNF)-inducible microsomes by 18 and 7%, respectively. Methanol, up to 5% (v/v) applied, also showed enhancement effects on P450 content in liver microsomes from rats treated with phenobarbital (PB), MC, and BNF, as well as uninduced microsomes with similar but low strength. DMSO, however, did not show such enhancing effects at the ranges of the concentrations applied. AHH and ECOD activities in MC-inducible microsomes were also enhanced by acetone at 1%, which was in proportion to the increase in P450 content by the same concentration. However, the P450 content, and AHH and ECOD activities, were decreased by increasing the concentration of acetone. Methanol at the same concentration with acetone also enhanced ECOD activity but not AHH activity in MCinducible microsomes. The enhancing effect of acetone on the enzymes was negligible when the microsomes were pretreated with a specific monoclonal antibody of MC-inducible isozyme. The difference in the effects of these solvents on P450 system might be due to their different properties that cause the P450 active site to be exposed in milieu.