The state of the vascular system of the mother and of placenta is known to exert a great influence on intrauterinal development of the fetus. Pre-eclampsia is the most common pathological syndrome connected with pregnancy. Since collagen is one of the main constituents of the vessel wall a comparison was made with collagen content and its molecular polymorphism in umbilical cord veins of newborns from healthy and pre-eclamptic mothers. It was found that umbilical cord veins of newborns from mothers with pre-eclampsia contained 18% less collagen than those of the newborns from normal pregnancies. This decrease was accompanied by a slight decrease of collagen solubility, but all its types (I, III, IV, V and VI) were present. However, the umbilical vein wall of newborns from mothers with pre-eclampsia contained relatively less of type I and more of type III collagen than the normal umbilical cord. These differences may be connected with a disturbance of blood flow in fetus of a woman with pre-eclampsia.
Pre-eclampsia, the most common pregnancy associated syndrome, is connected with remodelling of extracellular matrix of the umbilical cord tissues. Since the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) is known to be a stimulator of collagen and glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis, one may expect that it plays an important role in such a remodelling. Studies performed on the umbilical cords of 10 control and 10 pre-eclamptic newborns demonstrated that both the umbilical cord arterial wall and Wharton's jelly contain FGF mainly in complexes with the components of different molecular mass. Pre-eclampsia is associated with a decrease of endogenous FGF-binding by soluble high molecular mass components of the umbilical cord. It is suggested that FGF released from these complexes may be actively bound by fibroblasts of the umbilical cord, stimulating them to produce collagen and sulphated glycosaminoglycans.
Proteoglycans of Wharton's jelly contain mainly chondroitin/dermatan sulphate chains. The predominant proteoglycan is decorin (core proteins of 45 and 47 kDa), although the core proteins of biglycan (45 kDa), versican (260 kDa) and of other proteoglycans (90, 110, 220 kDa) were also detected (Gogiel et al., 2003). The aim of the present study was to compare the proteoglycan composition of Wharton's jelly of newborns delivered by healthy mothers and those with pre-eclampsia. Proteoglycans from pre-eclamptic Wharton's jelly had a higher sulphated glycosaminoglycan/protein ratio than those of normal tissue. Pre-eclampsia is associated with a lower level of all proteoglycan core proteins, especially those of higher molecular mass (such as versican), although the same set of core proteins were found in normal and pre-eclamptic Wharton's jelly. The alterations in the proteoglycan composition of Wharton's jelly may affect the mechanical properties of the umbilical cord and, in the case of pre-eclampsia, disturb foetal blood circulation.
INTRODUCTION: The role of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in the pathomechanism of arterial hypertension has been demonstrated, but little information is available on the influence of AGEs on the course of pre-eclampsia (PE). The aim of the study was to assess the concentration profile of advanced protein glycation products in pregnant women diagnosed with PE. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The concentrations of AGEs, carboxymethyllysine (CML), carboxyethyllysine (CEL) and methylglyoxal (MG) in the sera of female respondents were determined using the enzyme immunoassay method. RESULTS: The levels of AGE and CML were lower in the group of women with PE compared to the group of non- -pregnant women (p = 0.0411 and p = 0.0072). A lower CML concentration was found in healthy pregnant women as compared to healthy non-pregnant women (p = 0.00068). Positive correlations were found between AGE and CML levels in women with PE (R = 0.339, p = 0.032) and between CML and CEL in healthy non-pregnant women (R = 0.447, p = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS:We suggest that there is a decrease in the intensity of non-enzymatic protein glycation during pregnancy. Moreover, our study indicates that isolated PE may be associated with a different pathomechanism than chronic hypertension, and therefore AGEs cannot be at present considered a marker of PE.
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WSTĘP: Rola końcowych produktów zaawansowanejglikacji (advanced glycation end products – AGEs) w patomechanizmie nadciśnienia tętniczego została udowodniona, jednak niewiele jest informacji na temat wpływu AGEs na przebieg stanu przedrzucawkowego (pre-eclampsia – PE). Celem pracy była ocena profilu stężeń zaawansowanych pro-duktów glikacji białek u kobiet ciężarnych z rozpoznaniem PE. MATERIAŁ I METODY: Oznaczenia stężeń AGEs, karboksymetylolizyny (carboxymethyllysine – CML), karboksyetylolizyny (carboxyethyllysine – CEL) i metyloglioksalu (methylglyoxal – MG) w surowicy badanych kobiet wykonano metodą immunoenzymatyczną. WYNIKI: Stężenia AGE i CML były niższe w grupie kobiet z PE w porównaniu z grupą kobiet nieciężarnych (p = 0,0411 i p = 0,0072). Stwierdzono niższe stężenie CML u zdrowych ciężarnych w porównaniu ze zdrowymi nieciężarnymi (p = 0,00068). Stwierdzono dodatnie korelacje pomiędzy stężeniem AGE i CML u kobiet z PE (R = 0,339, p = 0,032) oraz pomiędzy CML i CEL u zdrowych kobiet nieciężarnych (R = 0,447, p = 0,012). WNIOSKI: Sugerujemy, że w czasie ciąży dochodzi do zmniejszenia intensywności nieenzymatycznej glikacji białek. Ponadto nasze badanie wskazuje, że izolowane PE może być związane z innym patomechanizmem niż przewlekłe nadciśnienie tętnicze i dlatego AGEs nie mogą być obecnie uważane za marker PE.
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