Effect of desipramine treatment on pulmonary phospholipid metabolism in rats.

Changes in pulmonary phospholipid (PL) composition, fatty acid composition in phosphatidylcholine (PC) and the factors contributing to regulate fatty acid composition in PC were studied in rats treated with desipramine (DP). DP level and PL content in post lavage, surfactant and alveolar macrophages (AMs) showed significant increases by DP treatment, and the accumulation of DP and PL into post lavage was the largest of three pulmonary fractions. The overall increase of PL content in post lavage was mostly sustained by PC. Only palmitic acid involved in PC from post lavage was significantly increased by DP administration, and other fatty acids showed a decrease tendency. Concerning the factors affecting fatty acid composition in PC, the ratio of palmitic acid in free fatty acid pool and the uptake of palmitoyl-CoA into PC via deacylation-reacylation system were increased by DP treatment.