Recovery of rat type II cell surfactant components during primary cell culture

A culture system designed to maintain the differentiated characteristics of rat type II cells based on protocols used for human fetal lung pneumocytes was investigated. Type II cells were isolated either from adult rats with elastase (adult type II cells) or from young rats (4-11 days postnatal) with collagenase and trypsin (young type II cells) and were incubated with dexamethasone (Dex, 10 nM) and cAMP (0.1 mM). By day 4 of culture with hormone treatment, the mRNA levels in adult type II cells were less than 3% of day 0 values, whereas surfactant protein (SP)-A protein content was 26%. However, young type II cells maintained lamellar bodies and microvilli and secreted phospholipid in response to ATP. SP-A, -B, and -C mRNA levels were elevated to 159, 350, and 39%, respectively, of day 0 values with a synergistic response to Dex and cAMP, whereas SP-A protein content rose to 119%. Surfactant mRNA and protein did not recover in cells cultured without hormones. This cell culture system restored surfactant components in rat type II cells.

Antenatal dexamethasone enhances surfactant protein synthesis in the hypoplastic lung of nitrofen-induced diaphragmatic hernia in rats

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

Pulmonary hypoplasia is one of the main causes for the high mortality rate in patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). The expression of surfactant protein A in the hypoplastic CDH lung is reduced, and its concentration is decreased in the amniotic fluid of pregnancies complicated by CDH. In a CDH experimental model, prenatal glucocorticoid treatment has proved its efficacy in correcting the parameters of pulmonary biochemical and morphologic immaturity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether maternal administration of dexamethasone has any effect on the expression of surfactant protein A and surfactant protein B in nitrofen-induced experimental CDH rat model.

METHODS

CDH was induced in pregnant rats after administration of 100 mg of nitrofen on day 9.5 of gestation (term, 22 days). Dexamethasone (Dex, 0.25 mg/kg) was given by intraperitoneal injection on days 18.5 and 19.5 of gestation. Cesarean section was performed on day 21 of gestation. The fetuses were divided into 3 groups: group I, control (n = 16); group II, nitrofen-induced CDH (n = 16); group III, nitrofen-induced CDH with antenatal Dex treatment (n = 16). Indirect immunohistochemistry was performed using alkaline-phosphatase-coagulated streptavidin using anti-SP-A and anti-SP-B polyclonal antibodies. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to evaluate relative amount of SP-A and SP-B mRNA expression.

RESULTS

In the CDH lung (group II) we observed a markedly reduced number of type II pneumocytes positive for SP-A, and SP-B was increased to a level close to that of the control group. The relative amount of SP-A and SP-B was reduced significantly in group II compared with controls (P < .05) and significantly increased in group III compared with group II animals (P < .01).

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that antenatal glucocorticoid treatment increases the production of surfactant proteins in the CDH hypoplastic lung.

Collectins and pulmonary host defense

The surfactant-associated proteins SP-A and SP-D are members of a family of collagenous host defense lectins, designated collectins. There is increasing evidence that these pulmonary epithelial-derived proteins are important components of the innate immune response to microbial challenge, and that they participate in other aspects of immune and inflammatory regulation within the lung. The collectins bind to glycoconjugates and/or lipid moieties expressed by a wide variety of microorganisms and certain other organic particles in vitro. Although binding may facilitate microbial clearance through aggregation or other direct effects on the organism, SP-A and SP-D also have the capacity to modulate leukocyte function and, in some circumstances, to enhance their killing of microorganisms. The biologic activity of cell wall components, such as gram-negative bacterial polysaccharides, may be altered by interactions with collectins. Complementary or cooperative interactions between SP-A and SP-D could contribute to the efficiency of this defense system. Collectins may play particularly important roles in settings of inadequate or impaired specific immunity. Acquired or genetic alterations in the levels of active proteins within the airspaces and distal airways may increase susceptibility to infection.

Fetal lung mRNA levels of Hox genes are differentially altered by maternal diabetes and butyrate in rats

Diabetes is known to be associated with delayed lung development in humans and in experimental animals. This includes delayed expression of surfactant apoproteins. An important component of the metabolic abnormalities in diabetes is elevated levels of analogs of butyric acid, and the effects of diabetes on surfactant apoproteins can be reproduced by exposure of fetal rat lung explants to butyrate. Dexamethasone has the opposite effects on lung development. In humans, antenatal exposure to dexamethasone results in a lower incidence of RDS, whereas in experimental animals, dexamethasone increases the expression of surfactant apoproteins. A subset of Hox genes are expressed in developing lung, and their level of expression decreases with advancing gestation. We hypothesized that: 1) lungs of fetuses of rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes would have altered levels of expression of Hox genes, 2) the effect would be mediated in part through elevated levels of butyrate, and 3) dexamethasone would reverse the effect. We tested our hypotheses in vivo using fetuses from streptozotocin-treated rats and in vitro by treating lung explants from normal rats with sodium butyrate. Streptozotocin treatment increased expression of Hoxb-5 at 18 d of gestation, but did not affect Hoxa-5 expression. This was associated with a 20-fold increase in alpha-aminobutyrate levels. Dexamethasone tended to reverse this effect. In contrast, butyrate treatment of explants decreased the expression of Hoxa-5 and Hoxb-5. We conclude that diabetes alters expression of Hox genes, but that the effect of butyrate on lung development, and in particular on surfactant apoprotein expression, is independent of its effects on Hox genes.

Collectins: collectors of microorganisms for the innate immune system

Collectins are a group of multimeric proteins mostly consisting of 9-18 polypeptides organised into either 'bundle-of-tulips' or 'X-like' overall structures. Each polypeptide contains a short N-terminal segment followed by a collagen-like sequence and then by a C-terminal lectin domain. A collectin molecule is assembled from identical or very similar polypeptides by disulphide bonds at the N-terminal segment, formation of triple helices in the collagen-like region and clusters of three lectin domains at the peripheral ends of triple helices. These proteins can bind to sugar residues on microorganisms via the peripheral lectin domains and subsequently interact, via the collagen-like triple-helices, with receptor(s) on phagocytes and/or the complement system to bring about the killing and clearance of the targets without the involvement of antibodies. The collectins can also bind to phagocyte receptor(s) to enhance phagocytosis mediated by other phagocytic receptors. Lack, or low levels, of collectin expression can lead to higher susceptibility to infections, especially during childhood when specific immunity has not fully developed. Therefore, the collectins play important roles in the enhancement of innate immunity.

The glucocorticoid-glucocorticoid receptor signal transduction pathway, transforming growth factor-beta, and embryonic mouse lung development in vivo

Lung morphogenesis has been shown to be regulated by glucocorticoids (CORT). Because CORT has been primarily thought to affect fetal lung development, previous studies have focused on the role of CORT receptor (GR)-mediated regulation of fetal lung development. Although endogenous CORT increases during embryonic and fetal stages and exogenous CORT treatment in vivo and in vitro clearly accelerates embryonic lung development, little is known about the morphoregulatory role of the embryonic CORT-GR signal transduction pathway during lung development. In this study, we characterize the embryonic mouse CORT-GR pathway and demonstrate: stage-specific in situ patterns of GR immunolocalization; similarity in GR relative mobility with progressive (E13 --> E17) development; that embryonic GR can be activated to bind a GR response element (GRE); significantly increasing levels of functional GR with increasing lung maturation; and the presence of heat shock protein (hsp) 70 and hsp90 from early (E13) to late (E17) developmental stages. These results support the purported importance of the embryonic CORT-GR signal transduction pathway in progressive lung differentiation. To demonstrate that the embryonic CORT-GR directed pathway plays a role in lung development, early embryonic (E12) lungs were exposed to CORT in utero and surfactant-associated protein A (SP-A) expression was analyzed; CORT treatment up-regulates SP-A mRNA expression and spatiotemporal protein distribution. Finally, to determine whether CORT-GR-directed pulmonary morphogenesis in vivo involves the modulation of growth factors, we studied the effect of CORT on TGF-beta gene expression. Northern analysis of TGF-beta 1, TGF-beta 2, and TGF-beta 3 transcript levels in vivo indicates that CORT regulates the rate of lung morpho- and histodifferentiation by down-regulating TGF-beta 3 gene expression.

Glucocorticoids, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and epidermal growth factor regulation of pulmonary morphogenesis: a multivariate in vitro analysis of their related actions

The mouse lung commences development on embryonic day 11 as an epithelial evagination from the posterior pharyngeal wall into undifferentiated mesenchyme, this epithelium bifurcating to form the lung primordium. Branching morphogenesis, as well as terminal differentiation, requires epithelial-mesenchymal interactions utilizing precise regulatory controls. Not surprisingly, specific hormones and growth factors appear to play a key role in this regulation. We report here a series of experiments designed to investigate morphodifferentiation (epithelial branching number, generation number, and fractal dimension) and histodifferentiation (cell morphology and SP-A immunolocalization), as they relate to glucocorticoid (CORT)-regulation of growth factor function and expression (Northern analysis). These experiments were conducted in embryonic lung primordia (E11.5-E12) cultured under defined conditions in the presence of single or combined CORT, TNF-alpha, and EGF supplementation. EGF supplementation enhances branching morphogenesis, but not immunodetectable SP-A expression, in embryonic lung primordia cultured for 4 or 7 days. TNF-alpha supplementation also enhances branching morphogenesis on days 4 or 7 in vitro; on day 7, SP-A expression is also enhanced. By contrast, the introduction of exogenous CORT to embryonic explants cultured 4 or 7 days markedly alters morphodifferentiation and histodifferentiation. Early on it would appear to enhance morphodifferentiation by changing the process of branching, while contemporaneously initiating precocious SP-A expression; later on, it alters morphogenesis by continued terminal differentiation of normal lung epithelium and a singular transdifferentiation of lung mesenchyme into an epithelioid morphotype expressing SP-A. This is correlated with a CORT-induced, highly significant, down-regulation of TGF-beta 2 and TGF-beta 3 transcripts. Explants supplemented with CORT + TNF-alpha or CORT + EGF.demonstrate a microanatomy and SP-A expression pattern identical to that seen with CORT supplementation alone. EGF inhibits the accelerated lung maturation normally seen in the presence of exogenous TNF-alpha alone, suggesting a relationship between these two seemingly disparate regulatory pathways.

Changes in surfactant protein A mRNA levels in a rat model of insulin-treated diabetic pregnancy

Maternal diabetes during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Previous studies using rat models for the diabetic pregnancy have documented decreased amounts of surfactant protein mRNA in the lungs of fetuses. In this study, we measured fetal lung surfactant-associated protein A (SP-A) mRNA from diabetic rats treated with insulin by daily injection or osmotic pump. Lungs were taken from fetuses on gestational d 20, and RNA was isolated and subjected to Northern blotting and densitometry to quantify SP-A mRNA. Fetal lung SP-A mRNA from untreated diabetic pregnancies was 34 +/- 2.9% of control. Insulin treatment increased levels to 55 +/- 4.2% of control values. Fetal lung SP-A mRNA levels were affected by the timing, length, and effectiveness of insulin treatment. Although levels from all treatment groups were still less than control values, insulin treatment during the last 5 or 10 d of pregnancy resulted in a substantial increase in SP-A mRNA levels over those of from untreated diabetic pregnancies. However, fetuses from the group with insulin treatment for the entire pregnancy showed decreases in fetal SP-A mRNA levels. Although the mechanism(s) responsible for the effects of diabetes and its treatment on fetal SP-A expression remain unclear, it appears unlikely that hyperglycemia is the principal cause.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and embryonic mouse lung morphogenesis

The ontogeny of the embryonic and fetal lung involves complex interactions between epithelial and mesenchymal primordia which require a specific program of gene regulation and signal transduction. Past studies in our laboratory using congenic mouse strains indicate that one or more genes which map to the H-2 region of chromosome 17 regulate the rate of lung morphogenesis, defined in this context as differentiative heterochrony among strains. Since hormones and growth factors are the messengers of morphogenesis, it was logical to propose that tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a well-characterized cytokine whose gene maps to the D-region of the H-2 complex, is a putative mediator of lung morphogenesis. We investigated this proposition using immunochemical methods and a serumless, chemically defined in vitro model system. Our results demonstrate that: (1) TNF-alpha has a specific spatiotemporal localization, in vivo and in vitro; (2) TNF-alpha receptor, in vivo and in vitro, is localized throughout the embryonic lung; (3) TNF-alpha supplementation in vitro of embryonic lung primordia has a marked dose-dependent, stimulatory effect on branching morphogenesis and surfactant-associated protein (SP-A) expression; (4) multiple immunoreactive proteins, including 17, 26, and 68 kDa species, are expressed during development in vivo, and a subset of these are expressed in vitro; and (5) both time- and glucocorticoid-dependent changes occur in the in vivo expression pattern of TNF-alpha immunoreactive proteins after 4 and 7 days in vitro, including the up-regulation of a novel 40 kDa protein. Given that glucocorticoids (CORT) regulate TNF-alpha expression and TNF-alpha's ability to stimulate pulmonary morphodifferentiation and histodifferentiation, we conclude that TNF-alpha is an autocrine/paracrine pulmonary cytokine, probably a component of the lung morphogenesis pathway regulated by CORT.

Glucocorticoid regulation of surfactant-associated proteins in rabbit fetal lung in vivo

The effects of a maternally administered synthetic glucocorticoid, betamethasone, on the levels of mRNA for the surfactant proteins SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C and on the levels of SP-A protein were investigated in day 27 gestational age rabbit fetal lung tissue. Betamethasone administration to the pregnant rabbit caused approximately a twofold increase in the fetal lung level of SP-A protein and a threefold increase in fetal lung SP-A mRNA levels when compared to levels in fetuses obtained from saline-treated or uninjected animals. SP-B mRNA was increased fourfold in fetal lung tissue obtained from glucocorticoid-treated pregnant does when compared to levels in fetuses of uninjected pregnant does. However, SP-B mRNA levels in fetal lung tissue from saline-injected controls were also significantly elevated, approximately twofold, when compared to fetal lung SP-B mRNA levels in the uninjected control condition. SP-C mRNA levels in lung tissue of fetuses from both saline-injected and betamethasone-injected pregnant does were increased similarly, approximately twofold, over SP-C mRNA levels in fetal lung tissue obtained from uninjected control does. These data are suggestive that betamethasone treatment increases fetal lung SP-A and SP-B mRNA levels and that maternal stress alone can increase the expression of SP-B and SP-C mRNA in rabbit fetal lung tissue. Using in situ hybridization, SP-A mRNA was shown to be present primarily in alveolar type II cells in fetuses of control and saline-injected does. However, SP-A mRNA was easily detected in both alveolar type II cells and bronchiolar epithelial cells of rabbit fetal lung tissue following maternal betamethasone treatment. In contrast, SP-B and SP-C mRNA were present only in alveolar type II cells of lung tissue obtained from fetuses of control, saline, or betamethasone-treated does. Thus maternal administration of glucocorticoids increased SP-A protein as well as SP-A and SP-B mRNA levels in rabbit fetal lung tissue. SP-A mRNA was localized to both alveolar type II cells and in smaller amounts in bronchiolar epithelial cells of rabbit fetal lung tissue. However, SP-B and SP-C mRNA were detected only in alveolar type II cells.

Conservation analysis of rat and human SP-A gene identifies 5' flanking sequences of rat SP-A that bind rat lung nuclear proteins

As an initial step toward understanding regulation of tissue-specific expression of SP-A, 5' flanking sequences of the rat SP-A gene and human SP-A I gene were cloned, sequenced, and compared using dot matrix analysis. Two regions were identified, each with a considerable degree of homology between the two species. One region was proximal to the TATAA box, at position -225/-17 in rats and -226/-36 in humans, and the other at position -1115/-1026 in rats and -938/-851 in humans. Studies in rats revealed the specific binding of rat lung nuclear proteins to each of the conserved 5' flanking regions identified in rat SP-A. Binding studies using the rat proximal (rPPS) or distal (rDPS) promoter segments, or overlapping fragments of these segments, with rat nuclear extracts detected the presence of a number (1-4) of lung-specific DNA/protein complexes. When nuclear proteins from liver, a nonexpressing tissue, were used the binding profile of certain nuclear proteins differed from that of the lung. These studies, taken together, suggest that sequences within identified conserved DNA segments in the 5' flanking region of the rat SP-A gene contribute to its tissue-specific expression in rats.

Corticosteroids and surfactant for prevention of neonatal RDS

Two main strategies are available for the prevention of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in cases of preterm delivery: antenatal administration of hormones that accelerate fetal lung maturation, and prophylactic treatment with surfactant soon after birth. The efficacy of each of these therapeutic regimens has been well documented in large randomized clinical trials, and recent data furthermore indicate that, in preterm babies with lowered risk of RDS after antenatal corticosteroid treatment, the odds for developing RDS are not further reduced by prophylactic treatment with surfactant. Corticosteroids and surfactant operate by clearly different mechanisms. The steroids stimulate (via the fibroblast-pneumonocyte factor) production of surfactant phospholipids by alveolar type II cells, enhance the expression of surfactant-associated proteins, reduce microvascular permeability, and accelerate overall structural maturation of the lungs. However, the increment in pool size of surfactant resulting from antenatal treatment with corticosteroids is trivial relative to the dose of exogenous surfactant required for successful prophylaxis at birth. Data from animal experiments indicate that antenatal corticosteroids and postnatal surfactant treatment have synergistic beneficial effects on neonatal lung function, and that these effects can be further potentiated by adding antenatal administration of thyrotrophin releasing hormone (TRH). Promising results have been obtained in recent clinical trials combining antenatal treatment with corticosteroids and TRH for prevention of RDS.

Characterization of the rat pulmonary surfactant protein A promoter

The expression of the pulmonary surfactant protein A (SP-A) is developmentally regulated and controlled by several hormones. In an attempt to characterize cis-acting elements involved in the regulation of SP-A expression, we have cloned the 5' flanking sequence of the rat SP-A gene. The promoter region contains a TATA box but no CAAT box. The transcription start site has been identified by anchored polymerase chain reaction and S1 nuclease mapping of the mature and precursor transcripts. S1 mapping of precursor transcripts has confirmed the stimulating effect of glucocorticoids on SP-A rat gene transcription in vivo. This hormonal effect may be mediated by a putative glucocorticoid responsive element located 140 bp upstream from the initiation site and protected against DNase 1 digestion in footprinting experiments. In vitro transcription of a G-free reporter cassette linked to the 212-bp 5' flanking DNA fragment has established that this putative promoter region is functional. Efficient transcription of the G-free reporter cassette was obtained with cell-free fetal lung extracts, whereas no transcript was detectable with cell-free liver extracts. Comparative analysis of the human and rat 5' flanking sequences shows the presence of strongly conserved motifs, unrelated to previously known consensus sequences. Some of these motifs, specifically protected in DNase 1 footprinting studies, could therefore be involved in the regulation of SP-A gene expression.

Glucocorticoid effects on rabbit fetal lung maturation in vivo: an ultrastructural morphometric study

Maternal administration of glucocorticoids is known to stimulate fetal lung maturation. In the present study, we used microscopy and stereology to evaluate the morphological effects of maternal glucocorticoid treatment on rabbit fetal lung tissue. Betamethasone was administered to pregnant rabbits on days 25 and 26 of gestation at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg body weight. The animals were sacrificed on day 27 of gestation. Glucocorticoid treatment significantly increased the presumptive airspace in the fetal lung tissue but did not alter the relative proportion of epithelium, connective tissue, or vasculature in the tissue. In addition, glucocorticoid treatment significantly increased the proportion of type II cells in the prealveolar epithelium, increased the rate of phosphatidylcholine synthesis, and increased the content of the major surfactant-associated protein, SP-A, in the fetal lung tissue. We could detect no effect of betamethasone on lamellar body cross-sectional area, numerical density, or volume density within fetal lung type II cells. Glucocorticoid treatment of the pregnant doe caused a decrease in the volume density of intracellular glycogen and an increase in the volume density of mitochondria in fetal lung type II cells. Betamethasone treatment did not alter the distance between fetal lung epithelial cells and subadjacent connective tissue cells. However, glucocorticoid treatment increased the number of connective tissue foot processes that pierced the epithelial basal lamina. Thus, glucocorticoid treatment of the pregnant doe results in structural changes in the fetal lung tissue, an acceleration of some aspects of type II cell differentiation, and a concomitant increase in epithelial-mesenchymal interactions.

Pre- and postnatal stimulation of pulmonary surfactant protein D by in vivo dexamethasone treatment of rats

Fetal (days 18 and 20 of gestation), neonatal (days 0, 2 and 4 of neonate) and adult rats were injected with dexamethasone (1 mg/kg) in vivo and 24 hours later the effect on the contents of surfactant protein D (SP-D) in the rat lungs were examined in comparison with surfactant protein A, disaturated phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol. In vivo dexamethasone treatment resulted in significant increases of SP-D content as the other 3 components of surfactant in both fetuses and neonates, but not in adults. Responsiveness to glucocorticoid treatment on SP-D content was maximum on day 1 of neonate (2.7 times control value). The contents of surfactant components examined tend to respond better to steroid in postnatal rats. These data demonstrated that glucocorticoid treatment in vivo for short durations exhibits the stimulatory effect on the contents of SP-D in the fetal and neonatal rat lungs.

In vivo regulation of surfactant proteins by glucocorticoids

Surfactant proteins have key roles in regulating surfactant secretion, in recycling, and in the assembly of the surfactant monolayer but little is known about their regulation in vivo. Surfactant proteins SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C have been shown to be upregulated by glucocorticoids in vitro, but the role of glucocorticoids in the physiologic regulation of surfactant protein synthesis remains unknown. We have studied the effects of exogenously administered glucocorticoids on the regulation of steady-state surfactant protein mRNA accumulation. We have also studied the effects of adrenalectomy on the accumulation of the surfactant protein mRNAs. Surfactant protein genes appear to have quantitatively different responses to exogenously administered glucocorticoids, with SP-C mRNA increasing at the lowest dose, SP-A and SP-B mRNA increasing in response to similar glucocorticoids doses but with SP-B yielding the highest maximum response. Adrenalectomy, however, does not alter surfactant protein mRNA levels. These observations support a minor role for glucocorticoids in maintaining the steady-state accumulation of surfactant protein mRNA. Adrenalectomy decreases total pulmonary SP-A when compared to sham-operated animals in the absence of changes in its mRNA. Therefore, glucocorticoids may have translational or post-translational effects that regulate total pulmonary SP-A accumulation, but the effects appear to be minor. These findings support a potential role for the adrenal in the pulmonary response to stress and demonstrate for the first time differential accumulation of the surfactant protein mRNAs to glucocorticoids in vivo.

Hormonal effects on the surfactant protein B (SP-B) mRNA in cultured fetal rat lung

Glucocorticoids, triiodothyronine (T3), and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) have been shown previously to modulate phosphatidylcholine and surfactant protein A (SP-A) synthesis in fetal rat lung explant cultures. In this report, we have examined the hormonal regulation of the rat surfactant protein B (SP-B) mRNA to determine whether SP-B expression is coordinately regulated with the surfactant phospholipids or with SP-A. Dexamethasone (1 to 200 nM) and cAMP (200 microM) had a stimulatory effect on SP-B mRNA levels, whereas T3 tended to inhibit the accumulation of SP-B mRNA. In combination experiments, treatment with dibutyryl-cAMP (200 microM) and dexamethasone (100 nM) resulted in about a 22-fold increase, whereas dexamethasone or dibutyryl-cAMP alone produced 18- and 2-fold increases, respectively. When the cAMP analogue 8-bromo-cAMP (200 microM) was used in combination with dexamethasone, there was no significant difference between the combined effect and that of dexamethasone alone. T3 treatment, however, resulted in a significant reduction of the dexamethasone-induced stimulation from about a 22-fold to a 14-fold increase. Tissue in situ hybridization showed that dexamethasone stimulated the levels of SP-B mRNA in cells from both the alveolar and bronchiolar epithelium. These data indicate that there are differences in the hormonal regulation of the components of surfactant, suggesting that they are independently regulated.

Effects of maternal dexamethasone on expression of SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C in the fetal rat lung

Prenatal administration of glucocorticoids has been shown to enhance surfactant production in the fetus. Since the surfactant proteins play an important role in surfactant function and secretion, we wished to determine the effects of maternal glucocorticoid administration on their fetal expression and appearance. Daily dexamethasone (DEX) (1 mg/kg/day) or 0.9% saline was administered to timed-pregnant rats on gestational days 14 through 16 or on day 16 with sacrifice on day 17 (term day 22), and on gestational days 14 through 18, or days 16 through 18, or day 18 with sacrifice on day 19. SP-A content was determined in lung homogenates from treated and control male and female fetal rats by an enzyme-linked in lung homogenates from treated and control male and female fetal rats by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The abundance of mRNAs for SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C per fixed amount of total cellular RNA was also determined in lungs from treated and control male and female fetal rats by Northern blot analysis. In litters sacrificed on day 17, DEX administered on days 14 through 16 and on day 16 resulted in significant increases in SP-A content. Expression of SP-A mRNA, which was not detectable in control fetuses on day 17, became clearly apparent after either 1 or 3 d of DEX treatment. The abundance of mRNAs for SP-B and SP-C also increased in day-17 fetuses after either 1 or 3 d of DEX treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Appearance of surfactant proteins, SP-A and SP-B, in developing rat lung and the effects of in vivo dexamethasone treatment

Hydrophobic pulmonary surfactant proteins (SP-B and SP-C) promote the adsorption of phospholipids at the air/liquid interface and the addition of surfactant protein A (SP-A) enhances this function. The developmental profiles of phospholipids and SP-A in the lung have been reported, but that of SP-B and SP-C remain unknown. We recently developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that measures SP-B in the rat. Using ELISA for SP-A and SP-B, we measured the contents of SP-A and SP-B in lung homogenates. The developmental profiles of SP-A and SP-B during the late gestational and postnatal periods were found to be distinctly different from each other. SP-A increased during late gestation and reached its maximum on day 1 after birth. This developmental profile of SP-A in the lungs was very similar to that of disaturated phosphatidylcholine (DSPC). In contrast, the SP-B contents in fetal lungs were low and increased after birth, reaching its maximum on day 4 after birth. In vivo dexamethasone treatment resulted in significant increases of SP-A content in rat lung homogenate on day 19 and day 21 of gestation, and day 5 after birth, whereas SP-B content increased significantly only on day 19 of gestation by dexamethasone administration. SP-A synthesis may be enhanced both pre- and postnatally, but SP-B synthesis may be stimulated only during the late gestational period by in vivo dexamethasone treatment. The difference in developmental profiles and the different responses to dexamethasone treatment between SP-A and SP-B indicate that the expression of SP-A and SP-B may be regulated independently at least in developing rat lungs.

Hormonal and developmental regulation of pulmonary surfactant synthesis in fetal lung

Pulmonary surfactant, a unique developmentally regulated, phospholipid-rich lipoprotein, is synthesized by the type II cells of the pulmonary alveolus, where it is stored in organelles termed lamellar bodies. The principal surface-active component of surfactant, dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, a disaturated form of phosphatidylcholine, acts in concert with the surfactant-associated proteins to reduce alveolar surface tension. Relatively large amounts of phosphatidylglycerol also are present in lung surfactants of a number of species, including man. The role of phosphatidylglycerol in surfactant function has not been elucidated; however, its presence in increased amounts in pulmonary surfactant is correlated with enhanced fetal lung maturity. Surfactant glycerophospholipid synthesis in fetal lung tissue is regulated by a number of hormones and factors, including glucocorticoids, prolactin, insulin, oestrogens, androgens, thyroid hormones, and catecholamines acting through cyclic AMP. In studies with human fetal lung in organ culture, we have observed that glucocorticoids, in combination with prolactin and/or insulin, increase the rate of lamellar body phosphatidylcholine synthesis and alter lamellar body glycerophospholipid composition to one reflective of surfactant secreted by the human fetal lung at term. Four surfactant-associated proteins, SP-A, SP-B, SP-C and SP-D, have recently been characterized. Recognition of their potential importance in the reduction of alveolar surface tension and in endocytosis and reutilization of secreted surfactant by type II cells has stimulated rapid advancement of knowledge concerning the structures of the surfactant proteins and their genes, as well as their developmental and hormonal regulation in fetal lung tissue. The genes encoding SP-A, SP-B and SP-C are expressed in a cell-specific manner and are independently regulated in fetal lung tissue during development. SP-A gene expression occurs exclusively in the type II cell and is initiated after 75% of gestation is complete. In the human fetus, expression of the SP-B and SP-C genes is detectable much earlier in development than SP-A, before the time of appearance of differentiated type II cells. It is apparent from studies using human and rabbit fetal lung in culture that cyclic AMP and glucocorticoids serve important roles in the regulation of SP-A gene expression. While the effects of cyclic AMP are exerted primarily at the level of gene transcription in human fetal lung tissue, glucocorticoids have stimulatory effects on SP-A gene transcription and inhibitory effects on SP-A mRNA stability. In addition, cyclic AMP and glucocorticoids act synergistically to increase SP-A gene transcription in human fetal lung in vitro.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Ontogeny of pulmonary alveolar epithelial markers of differentiation

We studied differentiation of the pulmonary epithelium in the periphery of fetal rat lung in vivo and in vitro by comparing the ontogeny of cell-surface glycoconjugates with that of surfactant phospholipids. Apical surface binding of the lectin Maclura pomifera agglutinin (MPA) and expression of a 200-kDa MPA-binding glycoprotein (MPA-gp200) was evident at 20 days gestation in type 2 cells, but did not correlate with ultrastructural features of type 2 cell differentiation. Epithelial cells isolated from peripheral lung of 18-day gestation fetal rats displayed hormone-sensitive surfactant synthesis prior to the hormone-insensitive expression of MPA-gp200. Expression of MPA-gp200 occurred in association with the appearance of many new apical surface proteins suggesting a hormone-independent process of polar membrane differentiation. Thus membrane and secretory differentiation are discordant and can be dissociated. In vivo binding of Ricinus communis 1 agglutinin (RCA1), an apical marker of the differentiated alveolar type 1 cell occurred in undifferentiated peripheral lung epithelial cells as early as 18 days gestation, disappeared from differentiating type 2 cells and appeared in differentiated type 1 cells. Both undifferentiated fetal epithelial cells at 18 days gestation and fully differentiated type 1 cells express multiple glycoproteins with terminal beta-linked galactose residues which bind RCA1. Some of these RCA1-binding glycoproteins appear to be similar. These observations suggest that alveolar epithelial type 1 cells may derive directly from undifferentiated peripheral lung epithelial cells as well as from fully differentiated type 2 cells. In addition, terminal differentiation of fetal lung peripheral epithelium into type 1 and type 2 cells may involve repression as well as induction of differentiation-related genes.

Influence of dexamethasone on the lipid distribution of newly synthesized fatty acids in fetal rat lung

There is a developmental increase in fatty acid biosynthesis and surfactant production in late-gestation fetal lung and both are accelerated by glucocorticoids. We have examined the distribution of the newly synthesized fatty acids to determine whether they are preferentially incorporated into surfactant. Explants of 18 day fetal rat lung were cultured with and without dexamethasone for 48 h and then with [3H]acetate for 4 h after which labeled fatty acids were measured. Incorporation of radioactivity from acetate was considered a measure of newly synthesized fatty acids. Phospholipids contained 86% of the newly synthesized fatty acids of which approx. 80% were in phosphatidylcholine. Phosphatidylcholine and disaturated phosphatidylcholine contained a much greater percentage of the labeled fatty acids than of the phospholipid mass determined by phosphorus assay while phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine and sphingomyelin contained less. Dexamethasone increased the rate of acetate incorporation into total lipid fatty acids but it had little effect on fatty acid distribution, except that it increased the percentages in phosphatidylglycerol and disaturated phosphatidylcholine. The hormone also increased the mass of these two phospholipids to a greater extent than that of the total. These data suggested that the newly synthesized fatty acids are preferentially incorporated into surfactant phospholipids and that this process is accelerated by dexamethasone. However, since phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol are not exclusive to surfactant, we compared isolated lamellar bodies with a residual fraction not enriched in surfactant. The rate of acetate incorporation into fatty acids in lamellar body phosphatidylcholine as well as its specific activity (radioactivity per unit phosphorus) were both increased by dexamethasone. Specific activity, however, was no greater in the lamellar bodies than in the residual fraction in both control and dexamethasone-treated cultures. Therefore, there is no preferential incorporation of newly synthesized fatty acids into phospholipids in surfactant as opposed to those in other components of the lung.

Regulation of pulmonary surfactant protein synthesis in fetal lung: a major role of glucocorticoids and cyclic AMP

Augmented synthesis of the lipoprotein, pulmonary surfactant, is initiated in fetal lung toward the end of-gestation. Inadequate surfactant synthesis by the lungs of premature infants can result in respiratory distress syndrome, the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in developed countries. The surfactant-associated proteins act with surfactant glycerophospholipids to reduce alveolar surface tension, and mediate the reutilization of secreted surfactant components by type II cells. Genes encoding the surfactant proteins SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C have been isolated and characterized. Recent findings suggest that surfactant protein gene expression in fetal lung is under multifactortal control and is regulated by glucocorticoids, cAMP, growth factors, and insulin.

Increased synthesis and mRNA of surfactant protein A in oxygen-exposed rats

Surfactant protein A (SP-A) is an abundant glycoprotein in surfactant that is synthesized and secreted by alveolar type II cells and likely has important roles in mediating surfactant function and metabolism. In the present study, we demonstrate that exposure to 85% oxygen increased alveolar lavage and lung SP-A, and that these increases were related to increased SP-A synthesis and mRNA. Adult rats were exposed to room air or to 85% oxygen for 3, 5, or 7 days. Continuous exposure to hyperoxia progressively increased SP-A content, with a 20-fold increase in alveolar lavage and a 10-fold increase in lung SP-A content observed after 7 days. SP-A-specific mRNA increased in the lungs of rats exposed to oxygen, occurring with a time course similar to the increase in tissue SP-A. SP-A mRNA was increased 7-fold after 7 days of oxygen exposure. Synthesis of SP-A was increased 2- to 3-fold and secretion was increased 6- to 7-fold by type II epithelial cells isolated from oxygen-exposed rats. We conclude that exposure to hyperoxia increased lung and alveolar SP-A pool sizes. Increased expression of SP-A was related, at least in part, to increased SP-A mRNA and increased SP-A synthesis and secretion by type II epithelial cells.

Characterization of the glucocorticoid receptor in fetal rat lung during development: influence of proteolytic activity

Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) from fetal rat lung cytosol was characterized during development. A gradual increase in receptor concentration without an apparent change in ligand affinity was observed during ontogenesis (16-20 days of gestation). GR was present at least 2 days prior to gestational day 18, from which day maternal betamethasone administration stimulated choline chloride incorporation into phosphatidylcholine, the major phospholipid in surfactant. Gel permeation analysis of lung cytosolic GR from fetuses of different gestational ages showed a gradual disappearance of a 3.6 nm GR seen in day 16 cytosol and to the appearance of a 5.8 nm GR in cytosol from day 19. The differences in Stokes' radii of GR were not due to transcriptional or posttranscriptional modifications of the GR transcript, since both day 16 and day 19 fetal lung contained a 7 kb GR mRNA similar to that in adult rat lung. Mixing experiments showed that the 3.6 nm GR was generated by an increased proteolytic activity in day 16 lung tissue. Preservation of a normal size 5.8 nm in day 16 fetal lung upon extraction could only be achieved by preincubating and homogenizing the lung tissue in the presence of protease inhibitors. No protease activity was found in day 16 cytosol suggesting the presence of a rapidly inactivated protease(s). The protease activity responsible for GR degradation was probably of a serine protease type, since proteolytic activity could be inactivated by diisopropylfluorophosphate alone, a potent inhibitor of serine proteases. From these results we conclude that: (i) the observed differences in Stokes' radii between GR from fetal lung of different developmental stages is attributable to proteolysis following extraction, most likely by a rapidly inactivated serine protease. This activity diminished during fetal lung development. However, in intact lung cells, GR is physicochemically identical throughout development; (ii) the lack of glucocorticoid stimulation or surfactant synthesis on day 16 and 17 in fetal rat lung despite the presence of low concentration of GR is therefore not explained by any differences in GR structure.

Differential effects of glucocorticoid on expression of surfactant proteins in a human lung adenocarcinoma cell line

Synthesis of pulmonary surfactant-associated glycoproteins of Mr 28,000-36,000 (SP-A) and Mr 42,000-46,000 (proSP-B) has been identified in a continuous cell line derived from a human lung adenocarcinoma. SP-A was detected by immunoblot analysis, ELISA assay and by [35S]methionine labelling of the cells. SP-A was secreted into the media as an endoglycosidase F sensitive glycoprotein which co-migrated with the isoforms of SP-A identified in human lavage fluid by 2D-IEF-SDS-PAGE. Hybridization of cellular RNA with SP-A-specific cDNA identified an abundant 2.2 kb mRNA species, identical to that observed in human lung. SP-A RNA and protein content were markedly inhibited by dexamethasone in a dose-dependent fashion. Under identical culture conditions, synthesis of a distinct surfactant protein, SP-B, was markedly stimulated by the glucocorticoid. The SP-B precursor was secreted into the media as heterogeneous Mr 42,000-46,000 protein, pI 4.6-5.1, and was sensitive to endoglycosidase F. Synthesis of proSP-B was enhanced by the glucocorticoid in a dose-dependent fashion and was associated with increased SP-B mRNA of 2.0 kb detected by Northern blot analysis. The cell line secreted proSP-B as Mr 42,000-46,000 glycosylated protein and did not process the precursor to the Mr 7000-8000 surfactant peptide. In summary, a human adenocarcinoma cell line has been identified which synthesizes and secretes two surfactant-associated proteins, SP-A and proSP-B. Glucocorticoid enhanced SP-B but inhibited SP-A expression in this cell line. The identification of a continuous cell line secreting surfactant proteins may be useful in the study of synthesis and secretion of these important proteins and for production of the proteins for clinical uses.

Hormonal effects on fatty-acid synthase in cultured fetal rat lung; induction by dexamethasone and inhibition of activity by triiodothyronine

We previously reported that administration of dexamethasone to the pregnant dam increased the activity of fatty-acid synthase (EC 2.3.1.85) in fetal rat lung and that this effect was reduced when triiodothyronine (T3) was also administered. To determine whether the hormones act directly on the lung, we examined their effects in organ culture. Explants of 18-day and 19-day fetal rat lung were cultured with 100 nM dexamethasone or 100 nM T3, the two hormones together or no hormone at all for 48 h, after which fatty-acid synthase was assayed. Dexamethasone increased fatty-acid synthase activity at both gestational ages. T3 alone had no effect on 18-day, but decreased the activity in 19-day explants by 20%. T3 reduced the stimulatory effect of dexamethasone from 177% to 102% and from 61% to 22% in 18- and 19-day explants, respectively. The effects of dexamethasone and T3 were concentration dependent, with EC50 (concentration achieving 50% of the maximum effect) values of 0.65 nM and approx. 25 nM, respectively. This dexamethasone EC50 is lower than the reported Kd for dexamethasone binding, but the T3 EC50 is considerably higher than its reported Kd. The physiological significance of the T3 effect is, therefore, not clear. The effect of dexamethasone was not apparent until at least 12 h after exposure to the hormone and it was abolished by actinomycin D. Immunoprecipitation with antibody against rat liver fatty-acid synthase showed that there was more fatty-acid synthase in the dexamethasone-treated than in the control cultures. The potency order of glucocorticoids in stimulating fatty-acid synthase was similar to that previously reported for specific nuclear glucocorticoid binding. These data show that dexamethasone and T3 act directly on the fetal lung and that the stimulatory effect of the glucocorticoid on fatty-acid synthase is due to new protein synthesis.