Abstract
To investigate the mechanism of estrogen enhancement of the β-adrenergic system in fetal lung maturation, the following studies were performed.
Pregnant New Zealand white rabbits of 26 days gestation were treated with 17β-estradiol (20 ug/kg) with or without actinomycin D and cycloheximide (100 ug/kg) and 24 hours thereafter the fetuses were delivered by Cesarean Section. The newborns were divided into a group receiving lung lavage and another group was killed immediately by decapitation and the lungs removed and processed for the estimation of β-adrenergic receptors, cAMP and adenylate cyclase activities.
Estrogen stimulated the lecithin-sphingomyelin ratio, phosphatidyl choline contents in lung lavage, and the β-adrenergic receptors, cAMP and adenylate cyclase activities in lung tissue. These activities in lung lavage and lung tissue were inhibited by actinomycin D and cycloheximide.
These studies suggest that estrogen stimulates lung maturation by synthesizing mRNA for β-adrenergic receptors, and the regulation occurs at the cellular level controlled by the cAMP system.
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Ayromlooi, J., Bandyopadhyay, S. & Das, D. MECHANISMS OF ESTROGEN MEDIATED LUNG MATURATION. Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 385 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01753
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01753