Скачать или смотреть Breathing in motion: the essential role of surfactant proteins revealed

🫁 One of life’s most essential processes : 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. This sustained collaboration between the ILL and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid has shed new light on how our lungs function at the molecular level!

Researchers have investigated the structure and function of pulmonary surfactant - the lipid/protein material that prevents the lungs’ tiny air sacs (alveoli) from collapsing during breathing.

Their study focused on the behaviour of key proteins 𝐒𝐏-𝐁 and 𝐒𝐏-𝐂 during the compression and expansion movements at the air–liquid interface that occur with every breath.

Experiments on the ILL’s FIGARO reflectometer have provided the first direct experimental evidence of monolayer-to-multilayer transitions during this process, clarifying the respective roles of
➡️ SP-B : drives the formation and stabilisation of multilayer lipid reservoirs, confirming its clinically-observed essential role for survival
➡️ SP-C : plays a supportive role, with its absence linked to chronic respiratory disease.

The collaboration (involving Javier Carrascosa Tejedor and PSCM) has enabled the development of an experimental setup closer to physiological conditions.
“This work – at the frontier of an extremely complex biological system and a cutting-edge experimental technique – illustrates the incredible potential of multidisciplinary collaboration to advance science.” says Prof. Jesus Perez Gil.

“It took years to learn to work together and create a structure in which we speak the same language through mutual effort, investment and adaptation.” adds Ainhoa Collada.

🧩 This project provides another example of how neutron science, biochemistry, and biophysics can come together to address complex biological challenges - ultimately contributing to the development of novel therapeutic materials.

Read our webstory "𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯"
https://www.ill.eu/news-and-events/ne...

Explore the original article published in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
"𝘌𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘚𝘗-𝘉 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘗-𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 3𝘋 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮𝘴"
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2025.1...