Journal
RESPIRATORY PHYSIOLOGY & NEUROBIOLOGY
Volume 163, Issue 1-3, Pages 244-255Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.resp.2008.05.018
Keywords
Lungs; Adsorption; Collapse; Surface tension; Surfactant proteins; Ventilation
Categories
Funding
- American Lung Association of Orego
- Pacific Mountain Affiliate of the American Heart Association
- National Institutes of Health [HL 03502, 54209, 60914]
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Pulmonary surfactant lowers surface tension in the lungs. Physiological studies indicate two key aspects of this function: that the surfactant film forms rapidly; and that when compressed by the shrinking alveolar area during exhalation, the film reduces surface tension to very low values. These observations suggest that surfactant vesicles adsorb quickly, and that during compression, the adsorbed film resists the tendency to collapse from the interface to form a 3D bulk phase. Available evidence suggests that adsorption occurs by way of a rate-limiting structure that bridges the gap between the vesicle and the interface, and that the adsorbed film avoids collapse by undergoing a process of solidification. Current models, although incomplete, suggest mechanisms that would partially explain both rapid adsorption and resistance to collapse as well as how different constituents of pulmonary surfactant might affect its behavior. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
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