Estudio preliminar de la composición bioquímica del surfactante pulmonar de cerdos jóvenes

The search of exogenous surfactants constitutes currently a priority due to the high morbidity and lethality of the Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome (NRDS) and the high effectiveness demonstrated by the replacement therapy with these products mainly those from natural origin. Taking in mind that composition and function of the natural lung surfactant differ among vertebrates depending on the pulmonary anatomy and respiratory physiology and that its quality varies with the age of the animals, in the present work a biochemical and biophysical characterization of a pig lung surfactant from young and adult animals was studied in order to evaluate the quality of these surfactants. The results showed that the lung surfactant from young animals has the general biochemical characteristics similar to the rest of the natural lung surfactant used in the clinic practice. Such characteristics are high levels of dipalmitoylphospatidylcholine, low levels of lysophosphatidylcholine, and adapted protein levels to allow its excellent biophysical activity. (