Kikkawa Y, Kaibara M, Motoyama E K, Orzalesi M M, Cook C D
Am J Pathol. 1971 Aug;64(2):423-42.
The influence of cortisol on the maturation of fetal lungs of rabbits has been studied. The normal developmental pattern of the various lobes is also documented and it is shown that there is a definite sequence of maturation among the five lobes of the lung. At a given gestational age, both upper lobes are consistently most mature. The right middle lobe is somewhat less mature while right and left lower lobes are least mature. The difference in the rate of maturation between the most advanced right apex and the least advanced base of lower lobes is as much as 1(1/2) days out of a total gestation of 30 days. Cortisol, injected into the fetuses 2 days prior to delivery, accelerated the overall maturation of the lung by about 1(1/2) days. The maturation of the type II epithelial cells also was accelerated and their inclusion bodies were more numerous than those of the controls. As reported elsewhere, prematurely delivered cortisol-injected rabbits of 26 to 28 days' gestation are more viable, breathe better and their lungs are better aerated when compared with control littermates. The surface activity of the alveolar lining of these animals is greater than that of the controls as indicated by higher ratios of bubble stability. These findings are apparently the results of accelerated maturation of the type II alveolar epithelial cells, which contain surfactant or its precursors as inclusions within the cytoplasm.
已经研究了皮质醇对兔胎儿肺成熟的影响。还记录了各肺叶的正常发育模式，结果表明肺的五个叶之间存在明确的成熟顺序。在给定的胎龄时，两个上叶始终是最成熟的。右中叶成熟程度稍低，而右下叶和左下叶最不成熟。在总共30天的妊娠期内，最先进的右上叶与最不发达的下叶基部之间的成熟速度差异多达1.5天。在分娩前2天给胎儿注射皮质醇，可使肺的整体成熟加速约1.5天。II型上皮细胞的成熟也加快了，其包涵体比对照组的更多。如其他地方所报道的，与对照同窝仔相比，妊娠26至28天的早产注射皮质醇的兔子更易存活，呼吸更好，肺的通气也更好。这些动物肺泡内衬的表面活性大于对照组，这由更高的气泡稳定性比率表明。这些发现显然是II型肺泡上皮细胞加速成熟的结果，该细胞在细胞质内含有表面活性剂或其前体作为包涵体。
