Delayed clearance of fetal lung liquid and sodium transport--genetic predisposition not evident yet.

UNLABELLED: The epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) contributes to the clearance of fetal lung liquid. In premature infants, low ENaC activity and low expression level of alpha-ENaC have been associated with respiratory failure. The polymorphism in the alpha-ENaC gene remains to be studied as a factor explaining the variation in the incidence of transient tachypnoea or respiratory distress syndrome in the newborn.

CONCLUSION

The study of genetic predisposition to common multifactorial diseases requires analyses of large, well-defined cohorts for representative variants of relevant candidate genes.