Pyruvate kinase activity in the placentas of women living in polluted and unpolluted environments.

Background: It was shown earlier that in women living in a polluted environment, the proportion of hypotrophic newborns was greater than in the general population. The placentas of these women show significant histological changes. The authors decided to check whether the activity of pyruvate kinase (PK), a key enzyme in the third stage of glycolysis, changes similarly.

Application of fluorescein-labelled lectins with different glycan-binding specificities to the studies of cellular glycoconjugates in human full-term placenta.

In the present study 13 lectins of plant, fungal and animal origin, characterised by different glycan-binding specificities were used to examine the structure and distribution of specific glycans in the tissues of human placenta. Histochemical analysis was focused on villi (villous syncytiotrophoblast and stroma), cytotrophoblast of the basal plate and amniotic epithelium. It was found that glycoconjugates containing mannose and N-acetyl glucosamine were widely expressed while external fucosyl residues were absent on all studied structures of placenta.