ABSTRACT
Despite the introduction of surfactant therapy and improved methods of ventilation, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), or chronic lung disease (CLD) of prematurity, continues to be a significant problem for preterm infants recovering from hyaline membrane disease (HMD), or acute lung injury of prematurity. In this chapter, we review the mechanisms by which neutrophils are recruited to the lung and mediate tissue injury, and the clinical and experimental evidence that neutrophils contribute to the progression of HMD to chronic lung disease. Several lines of evidence support a role for neutrophil-mediated injury early in the development of BPD. Determining the mechanism(s) by which neutrophils are recruited to the lung and exacerbate acute lung injury in the ventilated newborn could lead to the development of therapeutic interventions that attenuate the neutrophil-mediated damage that contributes to BPD.
