EVENTS IN THE CONTRALATERAL LUNG FOLLOWING PNEUMONECTOMY IN THE RABBIT

Growth of the contralateral lung was studied over a period of 21 days following pneumonectomy in 10-week-old rabbits. Lung volume and lung protein were increased on day 5, and lung weight was increased on day 7 after pneumonectomy. Synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the cells of the alveolar wall, as assessed autoradiographically, was first significantly increased on day 5, reached a peak on day 11, and had declined to control level by day 21. Synthesis of DNA also increased significantly in airway epithelial cells between days 5 and 11 with a peak on day 7, but the increase was less marked than in the alveolar wall. The amount of DNA in the lung increased significantly by day 9, and the increment in DNA was about that anticipated from autoradiography. It seems that maximum compensatory lung growth occurs in the second week following pneumonectomy in the rabbit and is complete in 3 weeks. The compensatory growth involves proliferation of both parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells in the alveolar wall. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.