The activity of antioxidant enzymes were measured in alveolar type II cells isolated from control and 85% oxygen-exposed rats to determine if type II cells, an oxygen-resistant lung cell type had constitutively high enzyme activities and to measure the effect of hyperoxia on these antioxidant enzyme. Type II cells were isolated from lungs of control rats and rats exposed to 85% O2 for 7 days. In whole lungs of rats exposed to 85% oxygen there is an increase in activity (per lung or per mg lung DNA) in the antioxidant enzymes CuZn superoxide dismutase, Mn superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Oxygen exposure significantly increased (p less than 0.05) all type II cell antioxidant enzyme activities when expressed per mg DNA. The protein content of oxygen exposed type II cells increased 25% from (63.9 +/- 4.8 micrograms/10(6) cells to 79.6 +/- 4.2 micrograms/10(6) cells, p less than 0.05). When type II cell enzyme activities were expressed in U/mg cell protein, only CuZn superoxide dismutase and Mn superoxide dismutase increased in activity following oxygen exposure (by 43% and 28% relative to air exposed lung type II cells, respectively, p less than 0.05). This suggested that most lung cell antioxidant enzymes increased in activity following oxidant stress in proportion to increased cell mass. CuZn and Mn superoxide dismutase increased activity to an extent greater than the increase in type II cell protein content after oxygen exposure. Alveolar macrophages lavaged from control and oxygen-exposed rats were also evaluated, and they had no significant change in CuZn and Mn superoxide dismutase activities. Type II cells accounted for 10% and 17% of alveolar cells in control and oxygen treated rats. By knowing the antioxidant enzyme activities in type II cells, the total enzyme activity of whole lung and the number of type II cells in control and oxygen exposed rats from morphometric data, we calculated the percent of whole lung enzyme activity accounted for by type II cells. Type II cells accounted for a high percentage of lung glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (58% in control rats, 65% in oxygen exposed rats) but a low percentage of Mn superoxide dismutase (4% in control rats, 6% in oxygen exposed rats).