Rat lung antioxidant enzymes: differences in perinatal gene expression and regulation.

The lung activity of the antioxidant enzymes (AOEs) copper, zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GP), but not manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn SOD), increases in rats during late gestation; the concentrations of Cu,Zn SOD mRNA and CAT mRNA also rise. During early postnatal exposure to > 95% O2, the lung activity of Cu,Zn SOD, CAT, and GP increases. We now show 1) the lung concentration of Mn SOD mRNA and GP mRNA does not increase in late gestation; 2) Mn SOD activity and the concentration of its mRNA and of GP mRNA increase during exposure of neonatal rats to > 95% O2; and 3) as previously shown for CAT mRNA, the increase in lung concentration of the mRNAs for Cu,Zn SOD, Mn SOD, and GP during early postnatal hyperoxia occurs with a 70-80% prolongation of the half-life of these mRNAs. We conclude that 1) in late gestation the level at which lung AOE gene expression is regulated differs among the enzymes, 2) the level at which lung AOE gene expression is regulated shortly after birth in response to > 95% O2 is uniform among the enzymes, and 3) the lung's AOE response to neonatal hyperoxia is not merely a step-up of its prenatal regulation but involves different regulatory mechanisms based on increased stability of AOE mRNAs.