儿童和成人肺疾病与胎儿期及生后初期肺发育障碍有关,上皮生长因子(EGF)对肺的发育成熟具有重要作用。Cohen 1962年在大鼠的颔下腺提出 EGF,系分子量为6045 da 的多肽.最初认为 EGF 是促进上皮细胞生长和角蛋白化的物质,以后发现对人成纤维细胞有作用。Sundell 等1975年给绵羊胎儿于3～5日内注入 EGF,发现对呼吸道上皮生长有促进作用,给胎龄123～130日的动物注入 EGF,可防止肺透明膜症的发生,并促进白细胞增殖和成熟。为了研究对肺脏的成熟作用,Catterton 等将 Child and adult lung diseases are associated with impaired development of the lung during the fetal and postnatal periods. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) plays an important role in the development of the lung. Cohen in 1962 in the hypothalamus of the rat proposed EGF, a molecular weight of 6045 da of the polypeptide was originally considered EGF is to promote epithelial cell growth and keratinization of the material and later found to have an effect on human fibroblasts. Sundell et al. Injected sheep EGF in 3-5 days in 1975 and found that they could promote the growth of airway epithelium. EGF was injected into animals of gestational age from 123 to 130 days to prevent the occurrence of hyaline membrane disease and to promote leukocyte proliferation and mature. In order to study the maturation of the lungs, Catterton et al