Accelerating and retarding effects of dexamethasone on the development of the avian lung.

Fertile eggs from Bovans hybrid were treated with dexamethasone on day 17 of incubation. This treatment resulted in a stimulation of the surfactant synthesis as recorded by the increased uptake of 14C-choline into the pulmonary phosphatidylcholine and the accumulation of lipoid vacuoles. On the other hand, dexamethasone caused a delay in pulmonary fluid absorption till day 19. This delay seems to be caused by a retarded onset of lung circulation. This conclusion has been derived from the lowered pulmonary hemoglobin content at this developmental stage. On the basis of the activities of ornithokallikrein and the angiotensin converting enzyme, ornithokinin may be involved in the retarded onset of circulation.