Current research status on biomarkers of " new" bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a serious pulmonary complication that affects the survival rate and quality of premature infants. Early diagnosis of BPD is critical to improve the survival rate and prevent chronic lung remodeling of premature infants. So finding appropriate biomarkers for early diagnosis of BPD has always been the focuses of this field. But the recent studies of BPD biomarkers are mostly focused on the perspective of lung inflammation and infection, lung fibrosis and oxidative stress, which are the pathological physiological characteristics of typical BPD, rarely in terms of pulmonary alveoli development block and pulmonary microcirculation disturbance of lung, which are typical characteristics of pathological physiological of " new" BPD. Recent studies have shown that there may be some relationship between " new" BPD and pulmonary alveoli related biomarkers of Krebs Von den lungen-6 (KL-6) and Clara cell secretory protein (CC16), and pulmonary microvascular related biomarkers of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietin (Ang) and endostatin (ES), which may probably be the appropriate biomarkers to predict the development of " new" BPD. In addition, the omics related biomarkers of BPD have received more and more attentions in recent years. So, in this article, the authors will review the recent research advances of biomarkers of " new" BPD in terms of pulmonary alveoli development, pulmonary micro-angiogenesis and omics, which may contribute to early prevention and treatment of BPD and improve prognosis and life quality of these premature infants. Key words: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia; Biomarkers; Antigens, surface; Vascular endothelial growth factors; Genomics; Early diagnosis; Infant, premature