Figure 1.

A proposed model for how airway epithelial maturation influences BPD and long term respiratory outcomes of prematurity. Prematurity, oxygen treatment, and genetic factors contribute to the pathology of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Impaired epithelial maturation leads structural changes, disturbed epithelial homeostasis, and inflammatory responses and increased susceptibility to infections. Early life events such as lower respiratory infections and exposure to air born pollutants likely aggravate inflammatory processes initiated by prematurity.