Developmental changes in endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression and activity in ovine fetal lung

Endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS) produces NO, which contributes to vascular reactivity in the fetal lung. Pulmonary vasoreactivity develops during late gestation in the ovine fetal lung, during the period of rapid capillary and alveolar growth. Although eNOS expression peaks near birth in the fetal rat, lung capillary and distal air space development occur much later than in the fetal lamb. To determine whether lung eNOS expression in the lamb differs from the timing and pattern reported in the rat, we measured eNOS mRNA and protein by Northern and Western blot analyses and NOS activity by the arginine-to-citrulline conversion assay in lung tissue from fetal, newborn, and maternal sheep. Cellular localization of eNOS expression was determined by immunohistochemistry. eNOS mRNA, protein, and activity were detected in samples from all ages, and eNOS was expressed predominantly in the vascular endothelium. Lung eNOS mRNA expression increases from low levels at 70 days gestation to peak at 113 days and remains high for the rest of fetal life. Newborn eNOS mRNA expression does not change from fetal levels but is lower in the adult ewe. Lung eNOS protein expression in the fetus rises and peaks at 118 days gestation but decreases before birth. eNOS protein expression rises in the newborn period but is lower in the adult. Lung NOS activity also peaks at 118 days gestation in the fetus before falling in late gestation and remaining low in the newborn and adult. We conclude that the pattern of lung eNOS expression in the sheep differs from that in the rat and may reflect species-related differences in lung development. We speculate that the rise in fetal lung eNOS may contribute to the marked lung growth and angiogenesis that occurs during the same period of time.