Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Surfactant protein A
Introduction
Surfactant protein A is an innate immune system collectin. It is water-soluble and has collagen-like domains similar to SP-D. It is part of the innate immune system and is used to opsonize bacterial cells in the alveoli marking them for phagocytosis by alveolar macrophages. SP-A may also play a role in negative feedback limiting the secretion of pulmonary surfactant. SP-A is not required for pulmonary surfactant to function but does confer immune effects to the organism.[1]
During Parturition
During Parturition
The role of Surfactant protein A (or SP-A) in childbirth is indicated in studies with mice.[2] Mice which gestate for 19 days typically show signs of SP-A in amniotic fluid at around 16 days. If SP-A is injected into the uterus at 15 days, mice typically deliver early. Inversely, an SP-A inhibitor injection causes notable delays in birth.
The presence of Surfactant Protein A seemed to trigger an inflammatory response in the uterus of the mice, but later studies found an anti-inflammatory response in humans.[3] In fact, the level of SP-A in a human uterus typically decreases during labor.
Immune Functions
Immune Functions
Research on SP-A has been done mainly in rodents including mice and rats. This research has shown that mice deficient in SP-A are more susceptible to infections from group B Streptoccoal organisms,[4] Pseudomonas aeruginosa,[5] and likely other organisms. The immune functions of SP-A are time, temperature, and concentration dependant.[6]
Location
Location
SP-A is found in the pulmonary surfactant in lungs. SP-A and SP-D are also present in extrapulmonary tissues.[7]
External links
External links
- Surfactant+Protein+A at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
References
References
- ↑ Boron W, Boulpaep E (2012). Medical Physiology (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Elsevier.
- ↑ Condon JC, Jeyasuria P, Faust JM, Mendelson CR (April 2004). “Surfactant protein secreted by the maturing mouse fetal lung acts as a hormone that signals the initiation of parturition”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 101 (14): 4978–83. doi:10.1073/pnas.0401124101. JSTOR 3371804. PMC 387359. PMID 15044702.
- ↑ Lee DC, Romero R, Kim CJ, Chaiworapongsa T, Tarca AL, Lee J, Suh YL, Mazaki-Tovi S, Vaisbuch E, Mittal P, Draghici S, Erez O, Kusanovic JP, Hassan SS, Kim JS (June 2010). “Surfactant protein-A as an anti-inflammatory component in the amnion: implications for human pregnancy”. Journal of Immunology. 184 (11): 6479–91. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.0903867. PMC 3103775. PMID 20439915.
- ↑ LeVine AM, Bruno MD, Huelsman KM, Ross GF, Whitsett JA, Korfhagen TR (May 1997). “Surfactant protein A-deficient mice are susceptible to group B streptococcal infection”. Journal of Immunology. 158 (9): 4336–40. PMID 9126996.
- ↑ LeVine AM, Kurak KE, Bruno MD, Stark JM, Whitsett JA, Korfhagen TR (October 1998). “Surfactant protein-A-deficient mice are susceptible to Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection”. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology. 19 (4): 700–8. doi:10.1165/ajrcmb.19.4.3254. PMID 9761768.
- ↑ van Iwaarden F, Welmers B, Verhoef J, Haagsman HP, van Golde LM (January 1990). “Pulmonary surfactant protein A enhances the host-defense mechanism of rat alveolar macrophages”. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology. 2 (1): 91–8. doi:10.1165/ajrcmb/2.1.91. PMID 2306370.
- ↑ Haagsman HP, Diemel RV (May 2001). “Surfactant-associated proteins: functions and structural variation”. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A, Molecular & Integrative Physiology. 129 (1): 91–108. PMID 11369536.