Cortisol-Induced Accumulation of Phospholipids in Organ Culture of Human Fetal Lung

Abstract

Lungs obtained from human fetuses with a gestational age of 17, 19, and 24 weeks were cultured as organ culture for 6 days with or without Cortisol. The total phospholipid content per milligram protein in the explants incubated with Cortisol increased by 56–81 per cent compared with the controls. Lecithin accounted for 62–69 per cent of the phospholipid increment in the cortisol-treated explants, whereas only 44.2 per cent of the total phospholipids in the control incubations consisted of lecithin. Cortisol increased the incorporation of [Me-³H]choline into lecithin by 118-224 per cent. The investigation shows that the human fetal lung, quite early in gestation, is capable of responding to the action of glucocorticoids by accumulating phospholipids.

Key Words:

• Cortisol
• idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome
• lungs
• organ culture
• phospholipids