Regulation of fetal lung maturation

The recent identification of the genes for the surfactant proteins has greatly facilitated the study of the regulation of fetal lung alveolar epithelial cell development at the molecular level. In general, expression of the genes for the surfactant proteins is enhanced by the same hormones that stimulate phospholipid synthesis. There are, however, some notable differences that indicate that the genes for the different components of surfactant are independently regulated. Species differences in the response of the surfactant proteins to hormones such as glucocorticoids and adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate have also been demonstrated. This review focuses on current knowledge of the hormonal regulation of the surfactant proteins against a background of previous studies of lung development.