title: Transferrin microheterogeneity in fetal blood.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Inflammation Pathology, Kagawa Medical University, Kagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kanenishi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hata
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D014168:Transferrin; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid