Basement membrane biomarkers in very low birth weight premature infants. Association with length of NICU stay and bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Basement membranes, critical for vital organs like the lungs, consist of two interwoven homopolymers, one assembled by type IV collagens and one by laminins. We hypothesized their serum antigens C-IV and P1, respectively, to be global measures for the maturity of these organs. In 39 very low birth weight premature neonates (means: gestational age, 25.