Route of incorporation of alveolar palmitate and choline into surfactant phosphatidylcholine in rabbits.

Intratracheal injection of 3-day-old rabbits with radioactively labeled palmitic acid and choline results in an 8-10-fold increase in the efficiency of their incorporation into surfactant phosphatidylcholine when compared to the intravenous injection of these precursors. Based on labeling patterns in microsomal, lamellar body and alveolar wash fractions, the incorporation appears to be via normal surfactant synthetic pathways. Intratracheal injection of phospholipid precursors is useful for producing relatively high specific activity natural surfactant.