The alpha and pi isoenzymes of glutathione S-transferase in human fetal lung: in utero ontogeny compared with differentiation in lung organ culture.

Polyclonal antisera to the alpha and pi isoenzymes of glutathione S-transferase have been used in immunohistochemical studies of developing human lung. In utero expression of the pi set was down-regulated in distal airway cells and the first appearance of pi-negative cells coincided with phenotypic differentiation. In contrast, in the early phase of fetal lung organ culture pi isoenzyme was detected in all differentiated epithelial cells and only as culture progressed did focal negativity develop. The alpha set showed no developmental changes in utero or in organ culture.