It is commonly known that the local protection of the lung [11] includes several cellular elements, such as alveolar macrophages, mast cells, ciliated cells of columnar epithelium of the bronchi and bronchioles carrying out mucociliary clearance, as well as various kinds of proteins, enzymes, etc., which can be found in lavage fluid (al-antitrypsin, secretory IgA, transferrin, lysozyme, interferon, lactoferrin, etc.) [3]. The main component of this system is endogenous surfactant [6,9] which contains along with other, two proteins (SP-A and SP-D) that exert immune modulatory, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties [1,2,5,6,7,12,13]. This complex also includes mucopolysaccharides (primarily heparin and hyaluronic acid) whose presence is absolutely necessary for functioning of the pulmonary surfactant. Only combined interaction of these and other components provides an effective protection of respiratory organ against effects of harmful factors in a healthy organism.
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