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Updated: May 30, 2026
An Experimental System to Study Mechanotransduction in Fetal Lung Cells
Published on: February 16, 2012
[Surfactant protein B expression and its role in the development of human fetal lung epithelial cells]
Xiang-yong Kong1, Jiang Du, Zhi-chun Feng
1Department of Pediatrics, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China. kongxiangyong@hotmail.com
Objective:
To investigate the expression patterns of surfactant protein B (SP-B) and its role in the development of human fatal lung epithelial cells.
Methods:
Human fetal lung tissues were obtained from 37 fetuses of 10-34 weeks at abortion with parental consent and from two newborn infants who died of non-pulmonary causes. SP-B expression in the lung tissues was examined by immunohistochemistry.
Results:
SP-B was detected in the cytoplasm of nonciliated columnar epithelial cells of the human fetal lung in as early as the 16th week of gestation. The positive reaction of SP-B was enhanced during canalicular stages and was more intense in the distal than in the proximal airway epithelium. From the 25th week to the prenatal stage, SP-B expression underwent no significant changes in the primitive alveolar stage, but increased remarkably after birth.
Conclusion:
The expression and secretion of SP-B reflects the maturation of the epithelial cells in human fatal lungs, and may closely associate with the survival ability of the newborn infants.
