Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Pediatrics

BPD is the result of a complex process in which severalprenatal and/or postnatal factors interfere with lower respiratorytract development, leading to a severe, lifelong disease.(Principi et al., 2018) The underlying etiology is multifactorial; it is influenced by both genetic susceptibility and environmental factors on the immature lung. The pathophysiology is characterized by inflammation, abnormal microvascularization, and impaired alveolarization. (Rezvaniet al., 2013) Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are secreted glycoproteinsinvolved in interactions between epithelium and mesenchymeregulating cell migration and proliferation in embryonicdevelopment, especially in fetal pulmogenesis.Their signalling depends on membrane-located receptors(FGFRs) with a tyrosine kinase domain, encoded by fourdifferent genes (FGFR 1{u2013}4).They are all translatedin developing lungs and are suggested to play major rolesin modifying distal lung patterns during alveolarization

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