Surfactant protein C is recycled from the alveoli to the lamellar bodies.

To clarify the life cycle of surfactant protein C (SP-C), we obtained alveolar surfactant from 3-day-old rabbits killed 15 h after the tracheal administration of 32P and L-[35S]methionine. Small amounts of this surfactant were administered into the tracheas of 3-day-old rabbits, which were killed after 1 min and 2 and 4 h. We then analyzed the radioactivity associated with SP-C and with saturated phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) in lung lavage fluid and in a lamellar body-rich fraction isolated from the lung homogenate. We found that SP-C and DPPC are both taken up from the alveolar spaces and incorporated into lamellar bodies, but the time courses of reuptake are different. Our results indicate that in the alveoli SP-C is turned over faster than DPPC.