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Pulmonary surfactant
Pulmonary surfactant
is a surface-active
lipoprotein
complex (phospholipoprotein) formed by
type II alveolar cells
. The proteins and lipids that make up the
surfactant
have both
hydrophilic
and
hydrophobic
regions. By
adsorbing
to the air-water
interface
of
alveoli
, with hydrophilic head groups in the water and the hydrophobic tails facing towards the air, the main lipid component of surfactant,
dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine
(DPPC), reduces
surface tension
.
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