Comparison of the Effects of Betamethasone and L-Carnitine on Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine Content and Phosphatidylcholine Species Composition in Fetal Rat Lungs

摘要

Antepartum administration of L-carnitine to pregnant rats results in an increase of both total phospholipid (80 ± 11 mg/g dry weight (dw); mean ± SD) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) content (7.7 ± 2.1 mg/g dw) in fetal lungs as compared to controls (72 ± 10 and 7.0 ± 2.5 mg/g dw, respectively). On the other hand, no effect of L-carnitine could be demonstrated on the DPPC portion in the total phosphatidylcholine (PC) or on the portion of palmitic acid in the PC fatty acids.Betamethasone elevated the DPPC content in fetal lungs (8.1 ± 2.0 versus 7.0 ± 2.5 mg/g dw in the controls), while total phospholipid content remained unaffected (71 ± 19 versus 72 ± 10 mg/g dw). The portion of DPPC in the PC species increased significantly (p versus 43.9 ± 2.6 in the controls). Further, after betamethasone treatment, a significant diminution (p p p < 0.05) acids in the total PC fatty acids. The findings suggest two different mechanisms of DPPC elevation in fetal rat lungs for L-carnitine and betamethasone.