Review article: Medical intelligence | Published 29 July 2013, doi:10.4414/smw.2013.13818
Cite this as: Swiss Med Wkly. 2013;143:w13818

Surfactant and allergic airway inflammation

Carla Winklera,b, Jens M. Hohlfelda,b,c

a Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Medicine and Toxicology, Hannover, Germany
b Hannover Medical School, Germany
c Member of the German Centre for Lung Research, Hannover, Germany

Abstract

Pulmonary surfactant is a complex mixture of unique proteins and lipids that covers the airway lumen. Surfactant prevents alveolar collapse and maintains airway patency by reducing surface tension at the air-liquid interface. Furthermore, it provides a defence against antigen uptake by binding foreign particles and enhancing cellular immune responses. Allergic asthma is associated with chronic airway inflammation and presents with episodes of airway narrowing. The pulmonary inflammation and bronchoconstriction can be triggered by exposure to allergens or pathogens present in the inhaled air. Pulmonary surfactant has the potential to interact with various immune cells which orchestrate allergen- or pathogen-driven episodes of airway inflammation. The complex nature of surfactant allows multiple sites of interaction, but also makes it susceptible to external alterations, which potentially impair its function. This duality of modulating airway physiology and immunology during inflammatory conditions, while at the same time being prone to alterations accompanied by restricted function, has stimulated numerous studies in recent decades, which are reviewed in this article.

Key words: surfactant; allergic airway inflammation; surfactant therapy

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