Transferrin microheterogeneity in fetal blood.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the distribution of microheterogeneous subfractions of transferrin in fetal blood and the influence of highly sialylated transferrins on fetal growth.


METHODS
Serum transferrin concentrations were determined by a standard turbidimetric assay. Microheterogeneous transferrin subfractions were assessed by crossed immunoisoelectric focusing.


RESULTS
In normal term infants, total serum transferrin concentrations and percent distribution of highly sialylated transferrins (> or = 5-sialo-transferrins) were markedly lower; the percent distributions of hyposialylated transferrins (0- and 1-sialo-transferrins) were apparently higher than those in non-pregnant and pregnant women. There was no significant positive correlation between the serum concentrations of total transferrin or highly sialylated transferrins in infants' blood and birth weights (r = 0.187, p = 0.582; r = 0.374, p = 0.257, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
The transferrin microheterogeneity pattern shifted towards reduced glycosylation and sialylation in addition to a decrease in total transferrin concentration in fetal blood compared to that of non-pregnant and pregnant women. The concentrations of serum total transferrin and the highly sialylated transferrins in fetal blood, if higher than a certain level, did not seem to have any influence on normal fetal growth.
Wu
Y
Y
Department of Inflammation Pathology, Kagawa Medical University, Kagawa, Japan.
Sakamoto
H
H
Kanenishi
K
K
Tanaka
S
S
Ueno
M
M
Hata
T
T
D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D006031:Glycosylation; D006801:Humans; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / Q000097:blood; D009391:Nephelometry and Turbidimetry; D011247:Pregnancy; D014168:Transferrin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
D014168:Transferrin; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid