Previous studies have shown that aldosterone treatment of amphibian epithelial cells results not only in stimulation of Na(+) absorption but also in changes in phospholipid composition which are necessary for the mineralocorticoid action of aldosterone. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of aldosterone on phospholipids of mammalian epithelia. Phospholipid and fatty acid composition was examined in colonic epithelium (mineralocorticoid target tissue) and thymus (non-mineralocorticoid but glucocorticoid target tissue) of rats which had received aldosterone or vehicle by a miniosmotic pump for 7 days. Aldosterone increased the mass of colonic phospholipids relative to cellular proteins with concomitant changes in the percentage distribution of fatty acids, whereas the relative distribution of membrane phospholipds was not changed. Phosphatidylcholine increased the content of polyunsaturated and decreased that of monounsaturated fatty acids, which predominantly reflected the accretion of arachidonic and a decrease in oleic and palmitoleic acids. Within the phosphatidylethanolamine subclass, pretreatment of rats with aldosterone decreased the content of monounsaturated fatty acids (predominantly oleic and palmitoleic acid) and of n-3 fatty acids, and increased the content of saturated fatty acids (palmitic acid). The saturated-to-nonsaturated fatty acid ratio also significantly increased after aldosterone treatment. No changes in thymic phospholipids were seen. The results are consistent with the contention that aldosterone specifically modulates phospholipid concentration and metabolism in mineralocorticoid target tissue. The changes in phospholipid content and its fatty acid composition during the fully developed effect of aldosterone may reflect a physiologically important phenomenon with long-term consequences for membrane structure and function.
