ABSTRACT
Fibroblast pneumonocyte factor (FPF) is a protein which was discovered serendipitously 1 when fetal type II cells were successfully isolated and it was found that, unlike their counterparts in situ, 2 in organ culture, 3 or in mixed monolayer cultures, 4 , 5 they had lost their ability to respond to glucocorticoids with enhanced surfactant production. As implied by its name, it mediates this hormone’s action on pneumonocytes (alveolar type II cells) through hormonal regulation of its production by the subjacent fetal lung fibroblast. The term “factor” denotes that its chemical and molecular nature is not yet defined. This chapter will review what is known to date about this material.
