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Developmental variation in whole human lung phosphatidylcholine molecular species: a comparison with guinea pig and
A N Hunt1, F J Kelly, A D Postle
1Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, U.K.
Insights
Human and rodent fetal lung development shows increasing disaturated phosphatidylcholine (PC) species. The P/O ratio effectively indicates fetal lung maturity, with guinea pigs modeling human lung development.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Developmental Biology
- Pulmonology
Background:
- Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is crucial for lung function.
- Lung PC composition changes significantly during fetal development.
- Understanding these changes is key to assessing lung maturity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the developmental patterns of human and rodent lung PC species.
- To identify sensitive markers for fetal lung maturity.
- To evaluate animal models for human lung prematurity studies.
Main Methods:
- Detailed analysis of lung phosphatidylcholine (PC) species during fetal development in humans and rodents.
- Quantification of specific PC species, including dipalmitoyl PC (PC16:0/16:0), myristoylpalmitoyl PC (PC14:0/16:0), and palmitoyloleoyl PC (PC16:0/18:1).
- Calculation of the P/O ratio (PC16:0/16:0 to PC16:0/18:1) as a marker of lung maturity.
Main Results:
- A progressive increase in two disaturated PC species (PC16:0/16:0 and PC14:0/16:0) was observed during fetal development.
- This increase was concurrent with a decrease in palmitoyloleoyl PC (PC16:0/18:1).
- The P/O ratio served as a sensitive indicator of fetal lung maturity across species.
Conclusions:
- The guinea pig lung development pattern closely resembles that of humans, making it a suitable model for studying lung prematurity.
- Rodent lung PC saturation increases later in gestation compared to humans, with rats showing significant postnatal changes.
- PC composition and saturation in adult lungs and bronchoalveolar lavage samples are similar across humans, guinea pigs, and rats.
Abstract:
Detailed analysis of the pattern of human and rodent lung phosphatidylcholine (PC) species during fetal development revealed a progressive increase in two disaturated species. The rise in the fractional content of dipalmitoyl PC (PC16:0/16:0) and myristoylpalmitoyl PC (PC14:0/16:0) was accompanied at each time point by a fall of similar magnitude in palmitoyloleoyl PC (PC16:0/18:1). Up to 20% of term lung PC was PC14:0/16:0. The temporal increase in rodent lung PC saturation began later in gestation than the human, and in the rat a significant increase in PC saturation only occurred postnatally. In this respect the guinea pig more closely resembled the human. For each mammal, a ratio of whole lung PC16:0/16:0 to PC16:0/18:1 (the P/O ratio) provided a sensitive marker of fetal lung maturity. The PC composition of whole adult lung and its saturation enrichment in bronchoalveolar lavage samples were similar in human, guinea pig and rat. We propose that the guinea pig provides a useful model for human lung prematurity studies.