Pulmonary surfactant is a phospholipid-protein complex that serves to lower the surface tension at the air-liquid interface in the alveoli of the lung. It is essential to normal respiration.

Inadequate amounts of surfactant at birth, a frequent situation in premature infants, results in respiratory failure.

Pulmonary surfactant is composed primarily of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and 2 major protein species of relative molecular weights 32,000 and 10,000.

Pathology (surfactant anomalies)

 congenital surfactant deficiency

• mutations of surfactant proteins
  • SP-A deficiency
  • SP-B deficiency
  • SP-C deficiency

 deficiency of lamellar bodies in alveolar type II cells with normal surfactant protein (#10673207#)

References

 Whitsett JA, Weaver TE. Hydrophobic surfactant proteins in lung function and disease. N Engl J Med. 2002 Dec 26;347(26):2141-8. PMID: #12501227#

 Devendra G, Spragg RG. Lung surfactant in subacute pulmonary disease. Respir Res. 2002;3(1):19. PMID: #11980588#

 Rooney SA, Young SL, Mendelson CR. Molecular and cellular processing of lung surfactant. FASEB J. 1994 Sep;8(12):957-67. PMID: #8088461#