Transcripts of the murine CYP1A1 (cytochrome P1450) mRNA are markedly elevated in mutant hepatoma cell lines that contain missense mutations in the Cyp1a-1 structural gene. This putative derepression extends to other genes in the [Ah] battery. To test whether the Cyp1a-1 gene product is involved in a mechanism of feedback regulation of transcription, we introduced expression plasmids carrying the murine wild-type Cyp1a-1 cDNA into the mutant hepatoma cells. Measurements of steady-state mRNA levels and of transcriptional rates in the transfectants reveal that expression of a functional, exogenous CYP1A1 protein is sufficient to restore the repression of the endogenous gene, as well as restore the inducibility by dioxin, and that this effect takes place primarily at the level of transcription. Similar experiments with expression plasmids that carry the human CYP1A2 cDNA indicate that the CYP1A2 protein (cytochrome P3450) can also function as a transcriptional repressor. In addition, we find that expression of the Nmo-1 [NAD(P)H:menadione oxidoreductase] gene, a third member of the [Ah] gene battery, is also repressed by the exogenous expression of either Cyp1a-1 or CYP1A2 cDNA. These results indicate that the gene product of either member of the mammalian CYP1 family has a previously unrecognized transcriptional regulatory function, which is likely to be exerted by modification of preexisting trans-acting factors. This function may help bring about a fast reprogramming of gene expression, as might be needed during detoxification of toxic foreign chemicals.