Oleic acid-induced lung injury, a well-described laboratory model for acute pulmonary injury in the rat and other species, causes morphologic and cellular changes similar to human adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Experiments were performed to test the hypothesis that the initial event of oleic acid lung injury is damage of the pulmonary vascular endothelium by oleic acid, with subsequent pulmonary damage and inflammation. Oleic acid levels were followed in the lung and other tissues by measuring accumulation of 14C-oleic acid; the direct effects of oleic acid and other fatty acids on rat endothelial cells, alveolar type II cells, and hepatocytes in culture were determined. Lung tissue from treated rats was also examined by light and electron microscopy for evidence of endothelial cell damage. At 30 min after injury, oleic acid reached high concentrations in lung tissue as demonstrated by presence of radiolabel (3.24 x 10(-6) moles per gram of tissue), with counts in the lung nearly an order of magnitude greater than in any other organ measured. Oleic acid was present in the lung mostly as free fatty acid (85%), and was also present in the alveolar fluid supernatants, rather than being cell-associated (1.7 x 10(-7) moles vs. 1.1 x 10(-8) moles at 30 min). Oleic acid was toxic to endothelial cells after one minute of exposure at concentrations of 5 x 10(-4) M and above. Electron microscopy showed endothelial cell changes as early as 10 min after induction of injury in vivo, including the presence of endothelial cell blebbing.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)