title: Pre-eclampsia-associated alterations in Wharton's jelly proteoglycans.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, Medical Academy of Białystok, Poland. tgogiel@amb.edu.pl
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gogiel
authors.forename: Zofia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Galewska
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jaworski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000378:metabolism*; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011509:Proteoglycans