Cultured lung cells: effects of isotopic dilution and some undefined stimulation on the incorporation of radiolabeled palmitate and choline into phosphatidyl choline (lecithin).

Pulmonary Surfactant, Type II Cells, Biosynthetic Pathways, Isotopic Dilution, Serum Hormones Using radiolabels, we studied the effect of certain experimental conditions on the incorporation of choline and palmitate into phosphatidyl choline (lecithin) of cloned type II rat lung cells. When the label was changed from methyl-3H to 1,2-14C the incorporation of choline was reduced to 1/3; in contrast, when the label was moved from 1-14C to 9,10-3H, the incorporation of free pal­ mitate was more than doubled. Removal of choline from the culture medium caused trebling of choline incorporation and appreciable decrease in palmitate uptake, indicating respectively an expected effect of increased choline label concentration in the absence of carrier, and a marked dependence of palmitate on choline incorporation. Removal of fetal calf serum produced more than 2/3 decrease in palmitate incorporation (instead of an expected increase because of palmitate isotope concentration), whereas choline uptake was not affected, meaning respectively that either serum hormones or serum lipids, or both simultaneously, are important for palmitate but not for choline incorporation. This is only the beginning of a host of studies required to clarify the role of fetal calf serum constituents onto lecithin biosynthesis in cultured lung cells and finally gain a full appreciation of the biosynthetic pathways of phosphatidyl choline (“surfactant”) in type II cells of alveolar epithelium.