Abstract
THE lung surfactant is rich in dipalmitoyl lecithin1 which lowers the surface tension of the lung lining to prevent collapse and transudation2,3. Strong evidence suggests it originates in the lamellated osmiophilic bodies (LOPBs) of the Type II cells of the alveoli4,5, which are often of spiral form. Some workers4,6,7 have regarded the LOPBs as transformed mitochondria; but others do not agree8–11. Under conditions of stress many of the mitochondria of the Type II cells transform into spiral bodies with the 4 nm layering, affinity for lead ferricyanide5,12 and sensitivity to damage by alcohol and epoxypropane5 which are characteristic of the LOPBs. When the transitional bodies are found in a specimen, they are present (as in the tissue for Figs. 1 and 2) in almost every Type II cell. They occur in about 1 in 20 untreated animals.
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PATTLE, R., SCHOCK, C., DIRNHUBER, P. et al. Lamellar Transformation of Lung Mitochondria under Conditions of Stress. Nature 240, 468–469 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/240468a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/240468a0
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