Role of keratinocyte growth factor in the control of surfactant synthesis by fetal lung mesenchyme.

Fetal lung maturation is regulated by mesenchymal-epithelial cell communication, which plays a major role in the control of surfactant synthesis by alveolar type II cells. We have recently shown that keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), also called fibroblast growth factor-7, enhances the maturation of fetal alveolar epithelial type II cells. Here, we investigated, among the factors produced by lung mesenchyme, the part attributable to KGF in the control of surfactant synthesis. Using a KGF-neutralizing antibody, we assessed surfactant phospholipid synthesis by measuring choline incorporation into disaturated phosphatidylcholine of isolated fetal type II cells. We found that KGF accounts for about half of the stimulating activity present in fetal lung fibroblast-conditioned medium (FCM). By contrast, the use of an epidermal growth factor-neutralizing antibody did not alter the FCM-stimulating activity. To further delineate KGF properties as a mesenchymal mediator, we wondered about its possibility to relay glucocorticoid-stimulating activity on the synthesis of the phospholipid moiety of surfactant in fetal lung fibroblasts. A 24-h exposure to dexamethasone led us to detect a 50% increase in the level of KGF messenger RNA (mRNA) in isolated fetal lung fibroblasts. Moreover, anti-KGF antibody totally abolished the further increase of FCM-stimulating activity induced by dexamethasone. Thus, KGF seems to be a major player in mediating glucocorticoid stimulation of fetal lung maturation.