[Phospholipid and fatty acid composition of lamellar bodies isolated from chicken lungs at different stages of development].

In order to elucidate whether the lamellar body content represents functional surfactant as soon as these bodies appear in lung epithelium during fetal development, lamellar bodies were isolated from lungs of Chicken at various developmental stages. Their content was analyzed and compared to extra-cellular functionnal surfactant. The results show that this content undergoes gradual changes in the phospholipid/protein ratio, as well as in the relative phosphatidylcholine amount. Thus, in the Chicken, nascent lamellar bodies do not represent the final form of extracellular surfactant.