Synthetic surfactants to treat neonatal lung disease.
Pulmonary surfactant is a complex of surface-active lipids mixed with specific proteins. Two of these, SP-B and SP-C, are essential for adsorption of surfactant lipids to the air-liquid interfaces of the lungs and, hence, are also essential for alveolar stability and effective gas exchange. Surfactant substitutes must contain at least one of these proteins (or analogues of them) to be optimally effective when administered into the airways of babies with surfactant deficiency or dysfunction. This review describes how an increased understanding of the properties of surfactant proteins has led to the development of improved synthetic surfactants with the potential to treat a wide range of respiratory disorders.
Robertson
B
B
Division for Experimental Perinatal Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska Hospital, L73, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden. Bengt.Robertson@mb.ks.se
Johansson
J
J
Curstedt
T
T
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000188:drug therapy*
D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants; D011994:Recombinant Proteins