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.

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