Abstract
The surfactant, which lines the alveolar surface of the lung for the prevention of alveolar collapse and transudation, consists largely of phospholipids [ 11. Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine is the major active component [l]. However, there are strong indications that phosphatidylglycerol (PG) is also essential [2]. In the fetal lung the synthesis of surfactant components is turned on in the terminal part of gestation (review [3,4]). The percentage phosphatidylinositol (PI) initially increases concomitantly with that of disaturated phosphatidylcholine (PC), whereas PG appears later [2,5-71. The appearance of PG is accompanied by a decrease in the percentage of PI [2,5-71. Three mechanisms have been proposed for the switch-over from PI to PG synthesis:
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