Tissue sources of cytochrome P450 4A and 20-HETE synthesis in rabbit lungs.

We previously reported that 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) is an endogenous cytochrome P450 (cP450) 4A metabolite of arachidonic acid (AA) in human lung tissue, and is a potent cyclooxygenase-dependent vasodilator of isolated pulmonary arteries. In the present investigations, we identified sources of cP450 4A immunospecific protein, messenger RNA (mRNA), and 20-HETE synthesis in rabbit lungs. Microsomes of peripheral lung tissue, airways, small and large vessels, and lysates of alveolar macrophages all express proteins of approximately 50 kD which cross-reacted with a primary antibody raised against rat liver cP450 4A1. Peripheral lung tissue, small and large pulmonary arteries, airways, and isolated vascular smooth muscle cells from small pulmonary arteries produced 20-HETE when incubated with AA. Expression of cP450 4A6/4A7 mRNA was readily detectable by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction using isoform-specific probes and 5 microg total RNA extracted from microdissected small pulmonary arteries. These data demonstrate that small pulmonary arteries express cP450 4A proteins and vascular smooth muscle cells derived from these arteries synthesize 20-HETE. Furthermore, cP450 4A appears to be widely distributed in rabbit tissue, raising the possibility that 20-HETE generated from nonvascular tissue could serve as a paracrine factor in the pulmonary circulation.