Pulmonary soluble guanylate cyclase, a nitric oxide receptor, is increased during the perinatal period

Nitric oxide (NO) has an important role in the pulmonary vasodilatation associated with the transition from fetal to neonatal life. NO activates pulmonary soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), an obligate heterodimer composed of alpha(1)- and beta(1)-subunits, increasing synthesis of guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) and leading to vasodilation. In this study, regulation of sGC subunit expression during pulmonary development was examined. RNA blot hybridization revealed abundant alpha(1)- and beta(1)-subunit mRNA in lungs of late-gestation fetal and neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats, with markedly reduced levels detected in adult lungs. Pulmonary sGC enzyme activity in the presence of 1 mM sodium nitroprusside, a NO-donor compound, was approximately sevenfold greater in 1- and 8-day-old rats than in adult rats (P < 0.03). With the use of immunoblot techniques, pulmonary alpha(1)-subunit concentrations closely correlated with mRNA levels. With in situ hybridization, alpha(1)- and beta(1)-subunit mRNAs were readily detected in pulmonary vascular and bronchial smooth muscle cells as well as alveolar and serosal epithelial cells in lungs of 1-day-old rats. In adult lungs, sGC subunit mRNAs were present at low levels and were found nearly exclusively in bronchial and vascular smooth muscle cells. These results demonstrate that abundant pulmonary sGC is available to respond to the increased NO produced during the perinatal period. High-level expression of sGC subunit genes outside the vasculature of lungs of 1-day-old rats suggests an important role for NO-cGMP signal transduction in the perinatal regulation of pulmonary epithelial function and bronchial tone.