Developmental physiology of human surfactant phosphatidylcholine – Intrauterine changes relative to prenatal glucocorticoids (PNG), respiratory distress (RDS) and bronchopulmonary…

Aims: Surfactant is a complex comprising phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylglycerol and specific proteins in variable concentrations. Dipalmitoyl-PC (DPPC), palmitoyl-myristoyl-PC (PMPC) and palmitoyl-palmitoleoyl-PC (PPPC) are enriched during surfactant assembly, while other PCs are mainly retained in cells. Particularly, PMPC may be immunologically important (1). While the PC changes of human surfactant differ with gestational age (GA) (2,3), GA effects have never been distinguished from other factors. Objective: To differentiate effects of GA and PNG on surfactant PC profiles at birth associated with RDS…