EPAS1 and newborn respiratory distress syndrome: On the other hand, HIF-2α exclusively regulates some genes involved in VEGF activation in endothelial cells [52,134], correlating with the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) observed in newborn mice caused by the loss of HIF-2α, which results in low production of surfactant by type II pneumocytes; the administration of VEGF prevents this syndrome [135].