THE ROLE OF MITOCHONDRIAL FATTY ACID USE IN NEONATAL LUNG INJURY AND REPAIR.

In premature neonates, hyperoxic exposure contributes to lung injury characterized by simplified alveolarization and arrested vascularization. These are the hallmarks of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a disease with long-term consequences on pulmonary and neurodevelopmental function. Lung vascular development and endothelial cell signals are synergistically important for normal alveolarization. It has been shown that metabolism of nutrients such as glucose, fatty acid, and glutamine is key in controlling proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, autophagy, senescence, and inflammatory responses, which contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic lung diseases, including bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Recent studies show that metabolic reprogramming occurs in cells and in animal models and more importantly in patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, suggesting that metabolic dysregulation may participate in the pathogenesis and progression of these diseases. Although endothelial cells rely mainly on glycolysis for bioenergetics, they have the metabolic flexibility to maintain cell function under stress or nutrient deprivation. Others have shown that hyperoxia decreases glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation in epithelial cells. Nevertheless, endothelial cells show enhanced mitochondrial fatty acid use after exposure to hyperoxia. This may serve to preserve endothelial cell proliferation and alveolarization, and thereby mitigate neonatal hyperoxic lung injury.