Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is a collagenous glycoprotein, produced by lung type II cells, that has structural and functional similarities with SP-A. In this study we postulated that SP-D and SP-A gene expression are regulated in a similar fashion to provide a coordinated local immune defense response to pulmonary infection. We determined content of SP-D protein and mRNA in second-trimester fetal lung and in postnatal tissue by protein blotting and hybridization analyses. Low levels of SP-D mRNA and protein were detected at 16 wk gestation, before appearance of SP-A, and levels increased during gestation. The content of SP-D did not change during 5 days of explant culture, whereas SP-A increased manyfold. Dexamethasone treatment during culture increased SP-D mRNA and protein about 2-fold with maximal response after 1 to 3 days' exposure to 100 nM steroid; under the same conditions SP-A mRNA content is inhibited. There was no significant change in SP-D mRNA after treatment of explants with adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) analog or interferon-gamma, agents which increase SP-A gene expression, nor after exposure to phorbol ester, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or lipopolysaccharide at concentrations that reduced levels of SP-A mRNA by approximately 50%. We conclude that SP-D in the human lung is under developmental and glucocorticoid regulation occurring at a pretranslational level. SP-D is not influenced by inflammatory mediators that regulate SP-A, suggesting that these two proteins are not coordinately regulated in response to lung infection.