Glucocorticoids increase fatty-acid synthase mRNA stability in fetal rat lung

The American Journal of Physiology
Z X Xu, S A Rooney

Abstract

Fatty-acid synthase (FAS) is a critical enzyme in surfactant biosynthesis. In fetal lung, glucocorticoids increase synthesis of phosphatidylcholine, the principal lipid component of surfactant, and there is evidence that this effect is mediated by increased expression of the FAS gene. Dexamethasone increases FAS activity, mass, mRNA content, and rate of transcription in cultured explants of fetal rat lung. As previous experiments with actinomycin D suggested that dexamethasone may also increase FAS mRNA content by a posttranscriptional mechanism, we examined the effect of the hormone on FAS mRNA stability. Explants of 19-day fetal rat lungs were cultured for 44 h with and without 100 nM dexamethasone. Some explants were harvested at that point, and others were cultured further with 60 microM 5,6-dichlororibofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB), an inhibitor of transcription. RNA was then extracted, and FAS mRNA levels were measured by Northern analysis, mRNA stability was assessed by comparing the amount remaining after culture with DRB with the initial level before addition of the inhibitor. The apparent half-life of FAS mRNA was 4 h in control explants cultured without hormone. FAS mRNA stability was increased 84% in the explants cul...Continue Reading

Citations

Mar 3, 2009·Experimental Physiology·Abigail L Fowden, Alison J Forhead
May 20, 2003·American Journal of Physiology. Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology·Hong HaoDavid H Ingbar
Jun 14, 2015·American Journal of Physiology. Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology·Yang WangLin Liu
Dec 26, 2001·Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta·S Beneke, S A Rooney

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