Pathological cardiolipin-promoted membrane hemifusion stiffens pulmonary surfactant membranes.

ABSTRACT: Lower tract respiratory diseases such as pneumonia are pervasive, affecting millions of people every year. The stability of the air/water interface in alveoli and the mechanical performance during the breathing cycle are regulated by the structural and elastic properties of pulmonary surfactant membranes (PSMs). Respiratory dysfunctions and pathologies often result in, or are caused by, impairment of the PSMs. However, a gap remains between our knowledge of the etiology of lung diseases and the fundamental properties of PSMs. For example, bacterial pneumonia in humans and mice has been associated with aberrant levels of cardiolipin, a mitochondrial-specific, highly unsaturated 4-tailed anionic phospholipid, in lung fluid, which likely disrupts the structural and mechanical integrity of PSM

SUBMITTER: Porras-Gomez M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8943818 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature