Abstract
We studied the effect of maternal glucocorticoid treatment on lecithin synthesis by lung slices and on the activity of three key enzymes (phosphatidic acid phosphatase (PAPase), choline phosphotransferase and phosphatidylglycerolphosphate synthetase) involved in surfactant synthesis. Pregnant rabbits (n=23) were injected with betamethasone (acetate plus phosphate) at 0.25 mg/ kg IM (1 or 2 doses) or with saline (controls), and fetal tissues were obtained at 26 days gestation 12-48 hr after treatment. Glucocorticoid activity in maternal and fetal plasma reached peak levels of 129 and 33 μg/dl cortisol equivalents, respectively, at 1-2 hr and returned to preinjection levels (4.2 and 1.4) between 24 and 48 hr. Treatment significantly increased the rate of choline incorporation into lecithin (pmol/mg tissue/hr) and the activity of PAPase (nmol P/mg protein/min) in lung, but not liver, homogenate. Mean ±SE values are:
There was no significant change in the other lung enzymes. We conclude that betamethasone, at a dose equivalent to that used in human prenatal therapy, stimulates both lecithin synthesis and the specific activity of PAPase in fetal rabbit lung.
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Ballard, P., Brehier, A., Benson, B. et al. BETAMETHASONE INDUCTION OF LECITHIN SYNTHESIS AND PHOSPHATIDIC ACID PHOSPHATASE IN FETAL LUNG. Pediatr Res 11, 567 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-01183
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-01183