Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 42, Issue 2 202-205, Copyright © 1977 by American Physiological Society
Lung lipid metabolism after 7 days of hydrocortisone administration to adult rats
M. Abe and D. F. Tierney
Pathogen-free rats were given either hydrocortisone (4 mg) or saline by
intraperitoneal injection twice daily for 7 consecutive days. Lung weight,
body weight, DNA, and total phosphatidylcholine content in lungs were equal
in the saline and hydrocortisone groups. Lungs of rats receiving
hydrocortisone had 23% more saturated phosphatidylcholine (P less than
0.001) and 7% less unsaturated phosphatidylcholine (P greater than 0.05).
When tissue slices of these lungs were incubated with radioactive glycerol
and palmitate, the incorporation of radioactivity into saturated
phosphatidylcholine from animals given hydrocortisone was significantly
higher (P less than 0.001 and P less than 0.05, respectively).
Incorporation of radioactivity from lysophosphatidylcholine into
phosphatidylcholine was 10 times greater than from glycerol or palmitate,
but hydrocortisone had no effect. These results suggest that
lysophosphatidylcholine may be an important precursor for
phosphatidylcholine synthesis, especially saturated phosphatidylcholine,
and hydrocortisone may lead to increased de novo synthesis of
phosphatidylcholine.
