[Analysis of the concentration of plasma copper and collagen in fetal membrane of the preterm's mothers].
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the study is to determine primarily the concentration of plasma copper and collagen in fetal membrane of the preterm's mothers, and explore the relation of copper status and fetal membrane collagen of preterm's mothers.


METHODS
The general situations were collected both in neonatos and their mothers. The plasma copper concentrations of mother venous blood and cord blood were analyzed by ICP-OES. Sirius Red dyeing was first used in fetal membrane to detect the thickness and collagen in preterm's and full-term's mothers.


RESULTS
The prevalence of premature rupture of membrane (PROM) was 40.00% in preterm's mothers, and 9.09% in the full-term's mothers. The mothers' preconceptual weight, infant body length and body weight at birth were lower in preterm group than those of the full-term group. The cord blood plasma copper was significantly lower in preterms than in full-terms. Both the thickness and the concentration of collagen I and II of non-split fetal membrane of preterm's mothers were significantly less than those of the full-term's mothers.


CONCLUSIONS
Both the concentration of plasma copper and fetal membrane collagen of preterm's mothers were lower than that of the full-term's. It can confer that the deficient copper status could lead to immature collagen in fetal membrane which induce PROM and have preterm birth finally. More work need to be done in this field.
Li
Ming
M
West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
Huang
Cheng-yu
CY
Wang
Xiang-dong
XD
Liu
Xing-hui
XH
D000328:Adult; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000032:analysis*; D024061:Collagen Type III / Q000032:analysis*; D003300:Copper / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005322:Premature Rupture of Fetal Membranes / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism
D024042:Collagen Type I; D024061:Collagen Type III; D003300:Copper