Abstract

Recent findings show that the TGFβ peptide superfamily signaling pathway is not only essential for both prenatal and postnatal lung morphogenesis, but also plays a key role in the pathobiology of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, lung fibrosis and emphysema. Exquisitely tight regulation of TGFβ bioavailabilty and function is mediated at all levels of signal transduction from the extracelluar space to the nucleus. While the potential for therapeutic manipulation of TGFβ function is great, the practical application to pulmonary medicine will be exigent because of the requirement for exact modulation of TGFβ bioactivity and signaling within a very narrow physiological range.

Keywords: Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, PROTEASE/ANTIPROTEASE, Matrix Metalloproteinases, elastin, lung function