The isolation of lamellar bodies and their membranous content from rat lung, lamb tracheal fluid and human amniotic fluid.

A simple one-step procedure is described for the isolation of lamellar bodies and their membranous content in high yield from rat lung. A linear sucrose gradient, ranging from 0.9M – 0.2M sucrose, is poured over a sample of homogenate in IM sucrose and the lamellar body fraction if floated to isopycnic equilibrium by high speed centrifugation. When the same procedure is applied to fluid drained from the lungs of newborn lambs or to human amniotic fluid collected late in pregnancy, a fraction is obtained which appears to consist of the membranous content of lamellar bodies in the process of unravelling.