Cellular distribution of enzymes involved in phosphatidylcholine synthesis in developing rat lung.

The incorporation of radioactive choline into phosphatidylcholine and disaturated phosphatidylcholine in rat lung slices increased markedly before term and peaked after birth. The specific activity of cholinephosphate cytidylyltransferase in the microsomal fraction increased before birth but fell after delivery. The specific activity of this enzyme in the cytosol showed a marked increased at birth. The developmental profile for the total cytosolic activity per gram lung was similar to the pattern observed with choline incorporation. Although the specific activity of cholinephosphotransferase in the whole homogenate remained relatively constant throughout pulmonary maturation, there was a marked increase in the specific activity of this enzyme in the microsomal fraction at term. Similar findings were obtained with the microsomal marker NADPH-cytochrome c reductase. The basis of this disparity in specific activity profiles is being investigated further. The specific activity of lysophosphatidylcholine:lysophosphatidylcholine transacylase in rat lung homogenates increased during gestation but rose a further 10-fold between day 3 after birth and the adult. The specific activity of lysophosphatidylcholine:palmitoyl-CoA acyltransferase remained relatively constant throughout development. At term, the specific activity of the acylation enzyme was 10- to 15-fold greater than the specific activity of the transacylation enzyme. These observations are consistent with previous studies indicating that the accumulation of phosphatidylcholine and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine during the perinatal period may be due to alterations in the activity of cholinephosphate cytidylyltransferase. Cholinephosphotransferase could also play a regulatory role. The formation of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine appears to occur via the acylation, rather than the transacylation pathway.