Improved methods for estimating the shape of the response curve for effects of exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) are needed in order to evaluate possible adverse health effects of TCDD. A mathematical model has been constructed to describe TCDD-mediated alterations in hepatic proteins in the rat. In this model it was assumed that TCDD mediates increases in the liver concentration of transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) by a mechanism which requires the aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor. TGF-alpha subsequently binds to the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor, a process which is known to cause internalization of this receptor in hepatocytes. This action is thought to be an early event in the generation of a mitogenic signal. Because TCDD decreases binding of EGF in the livers of intact female rats but not in ovariectomized rats, this effect was further assumed to be dependent on estrogen action. The model postulates Ah receptor-dependent effects on the concentration of cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2), which is involved in the metabolism of estradiol, and on the concentration of the estrogen receptor. The model also incorporates information on induction of cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) by TCDD. The biochemical response curves for all these proteins were hyperbolic (Hill exponents in the equations for their expression were found to be 1), indicating a proportional relationship between target tissue dose and protein concentration at low administered doses of TCDD. The model successfully reproduced the observed tissue distribution of TCDD, the concentrations of CYP1A1 and CYP1A2, and the effects of TCDD on the Ah, estrogen, and EGF receptors over a wide dose range.