Effect of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide on surfactant secretion in primary cultures of rat type II pneumocytes.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of the Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide on the secretion of phosphatidylcholine, the principal component of pulmonary surfactant, in primary cultures of rat alveolar type II pneumocytes. Lipopolysaccharide stimulated phosphatidylcholine secretion in a time- and dose-dependent manner. At a concentration of 200 micrograms/ml, lipopolysaccharide stimulated the release of phosphatidylcholine 4-fold over the basal secretory rate, and the concentration producing half the maximal response was 20 micrograms/ml. The stimulatory effect of lipopolysaccharide on phosphatidylcholine secretion was additive to that of the protein kinase C activator TPA, which is a potent stimulator of surfactant secretion. Lipopolysaccharide did not activate protein kinase C, which suggests that stimulation of phosphatidylcholine secretion by the endotoxin was through a mechanism independent of protein kinase C activation.