title: Surfactant protein B: structure and function.
abstract: Pulmonary surfactant is a mixture of phospholipids, neutral lipids, and associated proteins. A specific phospholipid, dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, is predominantly responsible for the modulation of surface tension at the alveolar air-liquid interface, but other surfactant lipid and protein components play important roles in surfactant function and metabolism. This review will focus on just one of the apoproteins, surfactant protein B, with a description of protein structure and the actions of surfactant protein B on surfactant lipid membranes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94118-1245, USA. hawgood@itsa.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hawgood
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D037701:Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein B / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D037701:Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein B; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants