Evidence for lactate utilization for fetal lung glycogen synthesis

Fetal rabbit lungs from 23 day gestation animals were used to investigate the potential role of lactate as a substrate for fetal lung glycogen synthesis. Fetal lactate dehydrogenase activity was approximately twice that found in the adult lung, while the activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase was elevated fourfold over the adult value. Pyruvate carboxylase activities were similar in both fetal and adult lungs. Studies employing fetal lung explants in organ culture indicated that the presence of both glucose and lactate may be necessary for glycogen accumulation in the developing fetal lung. These data support the hypothesis that lactate is an important precursor for fetal lung glycogen.