Basic study of healing of injuries to the myometrium and amniotic membrane using photocrosslinkable chitosan.

Aim: We performed in vivo and in vitro adhesion experiments on the use of photocrosslinkable chitosan (PC) for healing of the myometrium and the amniotic membrane to test its usefulness in the perinatal field.

Methods: To determine the adhesion conditions of PC in the healing of the myometrium and amniotic membrane, we applied two concentrations (30 and 50 mg/mL) of PC to the postpartum amniotic membrane, and radiated it with ultraviolet (UV) light for 10, 20, 30 or 60 s. Next, we created incisions of three sizes (pinhole, 5 mm and 10 mm), and performed PC adhesion followed by pressure application experiments.

Basic investigation of the lectin method for separation and recovery of nucleated red blood cells in maternal blood, and a study into the frequency of nucleated red blood cells in fetomaternal disorders.

We previously reported the separation and recovery of nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) in maternal blood using the lectin method. In the present study, we verified the lectin method and investigated the appearance of NRBCs during pregnancy. For the concentration of lectin soy bean agglutinin, 7 mL of maternal peripheral blood was collected from 20 subjects, and the relative fluorescence intensity was measured using flowcytometry; 50 mg/mL, used in previous studies, was the optimal concentration.

Analysis of fetal DNA from maternal peripheral blood by lectin-polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism.

Fetal nucleated cells in maternal peripheral blood are a non-invasive source of fetal DNA for prenatal genetic diagnosis. However, the number of fetal cells present in maternal peripheral blood is very small. Therefore, fetal cell enrichment is generally considered necessary to allow detection and subsequent genetic analysis of the rare fetal cells.

New technique using galactose-specific lectin for isolation of fetal cells from maternal blood.

To isolate fetal cells from maternal blood, we developed a new method based on galactose-bearing conjugation. Nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs), which highly express galactose on their surface, were selectively attached to a substrate coated with a galactose-containing polymer via soybean agglutinin (SBA), a galactose-specific lectin. Cord blood samples were used to evaluate enrichment efficacy of NRBCs by this method.