Mouse 3alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase mRNA: a marker of lung maturity.

Lung maturation is delayed in male fetuses compared to females and androgens are responsible of this delay. On the other hand, a normal role was proposed for androgens in the developing lung based on a correlation between expression of type 5 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD), which catalyzes testosterone synthesis, and the emergence of mature type II pneumonocytes, a developmental event associated with the surge of surfactant synthesis. All these observations underline the importance of the metabolism of androgens in the developing lung. Here, we report a study on the expression of genes involved in the metabolism of the most potent androgen, 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone, in the mouse fetal lung between gestation days 15.5 and 18.5. Synthesis and inactivation of 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone occur through 5alpha-reductase and 3alpha-HSD activities, respectively. Type 1 5alpha-reductase was expressed throughout the gestation time window analyzed at fairly constant levels with no gender difference, except that a slight decrease was observed on gestation day 18.5. In contrast, expression of m3alpha-HSD presented a marked increase on gestation day 17.5, when the maturation of type II pneumonocytes occurs, and followed its progression at least until gestation day 18.5. In conclusion, our data show that m3alpha-HSD mRNA is a reliable marker of lung maturity in normal pregnancy.