Hyperoxic regulation of lung heme oxygenase in neonatal rats

In the neonatal lung, hyperoxic exposure is associated with induction of various genes and critical antioxidants. Heme oxygenase, specifically the HO-1 isoenzyme, is regulated in oxidant stress and may also serve to limit oxidative damage. However, it is not known whether neonatal lung HO-1 is regulated in hyperoxia specifically and, if so, what type of regulation occurs. Therefore, we attempted to answer these questions using newly born (< 12 h) Wistar rats exposed to hyperoxia for 3 d. Neonatal rat lungs were evaluated daily for total HO activity, immunoreactive HO-1 protein, and steady state levels of HO-1 mRNA and compared with air-exposed controls. In neonatal rats, we noted an increased lung HO activity after 3 d of hyperoxic exposure. Additionally, evaluation of HO activity after immunoprecipitation of HO-1 protein suggested that HO-1 contributed most of the increase in lung total HO activity observed in hyperoxia. Nonetheless, we did not see a significant difference in immunoreactive HO-1 protein in neonatal lungs after 3 d of hyperoxic exposure, although we did so on d 2. Also, in contrast with previous reports, we did not detect any significant differences in steady state levels of HO-1 mRNA on any day of hyperoxic exposure compared with air. We therefore conclude that neonatal rat lung HO-1 is regulated in hyperoxia and speculate that the regulation of neonatal lung HO-1 occurs by posttranscriptional mechanisms, at least within the first days of hyperoxic exposure.