Recent studies have suggested that type II (inducible) nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS II) is present in the fetal lung, but its physiological roles are uncertain. Whether NOS II activity contributes to the NO-mediated fall in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) during shear stress-induced pulmonary vasodilation is unknown. We studied the hemodynamic effects of two selective NOS II antagonists [aminoguanidine (AG) and S-ethylisothiourea (EIT)], a nonselective NOS antagonist [nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA)], and a nonselective vasoconstrictor (U-46619) on PVR during partial compression of the ductus arteriosus (DA) in 20 chronically prepared fetal lambs (mean age 132 +/- 2 days, term 147 days). At surgery, catheters were placed in the left pulmonary artery (LPA) for selective drug infusion, an ultrasonic flow transducer was placed on the LPA to measure blood flow, and an inflatable vascular occluder was placed loosely around the DA for compression. On alternate days, a brief intrapulmonary infusion of normal saline (control), AG, EIT, L-NNA, or U-46619 was infused in random order into the LPA. The DA was compressed to increase mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP) 12-15 mmHg above baseline values and held constant for 30 min. In control studies, DA compression reduced PVR by 42% from baseline values (P < 0.01). L-NNA treatment completely blocked the fall in PVR during DA compression. AG and EIT attenuated the decrease in PVR by 30 and 19%, respectively (P < 0.05). Nonspecific elevation in PVR by U-46619 did not affect the fall in PVR during DA compression. Immunostaining for NOS II identified this isoform in airway epithelium and vascular smooth muscle in the late-gestation ovine fetal lung. We conclude that selective NOS II antagonists attenuate but do not block shear stress-induced vasodilation in the fetal lung. We speculate that stimulation of NOS II activity, perhaps from smooth muscle cells, contributes in part to the NO-mediated fall in PVR during shear stress-induced pulmonary vasodilation.