Increased susceptibility to hyperoxic lung injury and alveolar simplification in newborn rats by prenatal administration of benzo[a]pyrene.

Maternal smoking is one of the risk factors for preterm birth and for the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). In this study, we tested the hypothesis that prenatal exposure of rats to benzo[a]pyrene (BP), a component of cigarette smoke, will result in increased susceptibility of newborns to oxygen-mediated lung injury and alveolar simplification, and that cytochrome P450 (CYP)1A and 1B1 enzymes and oxidative stress mechanistically contribute to this phenomenon. Timed pregnant Fisher 344 rats were administered BP (25 mg/kg) or the vehicle corn oil (CO) on gestational days 18, 19 and 20, and newborn rats were either maintained in room air or exposed to hyperoxia (85% O2) for 7 or 14 days. Hyperoxic newborn rats prenatally exposed to the vehicle CO showed lung injury and alveolar simplification, and inflammation, and these effects were potentiated in rats that were prenatally exposed to BP. Prenatal exposure to BP, followed by hyperoxia, also resulted in significant modulation of hepatic and pulmonary cytochrome P450 (CYP)1A and 1B1 enzymes at PND 7-14. These rats displayed significant oxidative stress in lungs at postnatal day (PND) 14, as evidenced by increased levels of the F2-isoprostane 8-iso-PGF2α. Furthermore, these animals showed BP-derived DNA adducts and oxidative DNA adducts in the lung. In conclusion, our results show increased susceptibility of newborns to oxygen-mediated lung injury and alveolar simplification following maternal exposure to BP, and our results suggest that modulation of CYP1A/1B1 enzymes, increases in oxidative stress, and BP-DNA adducts contributed to this phenomenon.

Attenuation of oxygen-induced abnormal lung maturation in rats by retinoic acid: possible role of cytochrome P4501A enzymes.

Supplemental oxygen is frequently used in the treatment of infants having pulmonary insufficiency, but prolonged hyperoxia may contribute to the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in these infants. Cytochrome P4501A enzymes have been implicated in hyperoxic lung injury. Retinoic acid (RA) plays a key role in lung development. Here, we tested the hypotheses that newborn rats exposed to a combination of RA and hyperoxia would be less susceptible to lung injury than those exposed to hyperoxia only and that modulation of CYP1A enzymes by RA contribute to the beneficial effects of RA against hyperoxic lung injury. Newborn rats exposed to hyperoxia for 7 days showed higher lung weight/body weight ratios compared with those exposed to RA + hyperoxia. Hyperoxia for 7 days also caused a significant increase in hepatic and pulmonary CYP1A1/1A2 expression compared with air-breathing controls. RA + hyperoxia treatment lowered the expression of these genes. Seven to 30 days after withdrawal of hyperoxia, the animals showed marked induction of hepatic and pulmonary CYP1A1/1A2 expression, but animals that had been given RA + hyperoxia displayed lower expression of these enzymes. On postnatal days 22 or 38, the hyperoxic animals displayed retarded lung alveolarization; however, the RA + hyperoxia-exposed animals showed improved alveolarization. The improved alveolarization in animals given RA + hyperoxia, in conjunction with the attenuation of CYP1A1 and 1A2 expression in these animals, suggests that this phenomenon may play a role in the beneficial effects of RA.