Adenylate cyclase and cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activities were examined in the maternal and fetal lungs before and after delivery from the saline- and dexamethasone-treated pregnant rats. Basal adenylate cyclase activity in the maternal lungs of control animals did not change after parturition whereas the enzyme activity in fetal lungs increased 2.5-fold after birth. Dexamethasone treatment reduced adenylate cyclase activity in the maternal lungs before and after parturition while the enzyme activity in fetal lungs was increased. The ability of the cytoplasmic factors to activate adenylate cyclase in maternal lungs decreased after parturition. Dexamethasone treatment of the pregnant rat lowered the cytoplasmic activation of the maternal enzyme before and after parturition, but the percent activation of the enzyme in both the maternal and fetal lungs was not affected. The decrease in activator activity of the maternal lungs after parturition was not apparently due to the reduced sensitivity of adenylate cyclase to the same level of the activator protein. However, it would appear that both adenylate cyclase and its activator protein have undergone some maturational changes during lung development. Adrenalectomy of rats did not alter the basal adenylate cyclase activity in lung membranes but reduced the cytoplasmic activation of the enzyme. Unlike pregnant rats, dexamethasone treatment of adrenalectomized rats restored the cytoplasmic activation of adenylate cyclase not only to the control value, but potentiated it even higher than the control without affecting the basal adenylate cyclase activity. Cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity in both the maternal and fetal lungs was not influenced by parturition.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)