Objective(s): The mechanism via which genistein, the major isoflavone content of soya, adversely influenced placenta and fetal development was evaluated in pregnant laboratory rats.Materials and Methods: There were control, 2 mg/kg and 4 mg/kg genistein groups of rats with five sub-groups based on gestation termination day. At the end of...

Diets high in soy-based products are well known for their estrogenic activity. Genistein, the predominant phytoestrogen present in soy, is known to interact with estrogen receptors (ER) alpha and beta and elicits reproductive effects in developing rodents. In the rat, genistein is metabolized predominantly to glucuronide and sulfate conjugates, neither of which is capable of activating ER. Ther...

Malaria leads to pathophysiological and biochemical alterations in placenta and blood of pregnant mice. A significant decrease in the sugar, protein and lipid levels in the placental homogenate of pregnantinfected mice was observed compared to the pregnant mice. However, serum protein content was not altered much in the pregnant-infected mice as compared to the levels in control mice. The serum...

The view is advanced that it is important to fix the stage of development corresponding to the pattern of expression of oncodevelopmental proteins in neoplastic transformation and neoplasia. From a map of development focused on events beginning with the zygote and ending with the establishment of fetus and placenta, it is possible to explain why certain develop mental gene products are restrict...

The alkaline phosphatase from KB cells was purified, characterized, and compared to placental alkaline phosphatase, which it resembles immunologically. Two nonidentical nonomeric subunits of the KB phosphatase were found. The two subunits, which have apparent molecular weights of 64,000 and 72,000, can be separated on polyacrylamide gels containing sodium dodecyl sulfate. The Mr = 64,000 KB sub...

Human recombinant transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha), which binds to the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor and causes several biological effects similar to those caused by EGF, was compared with murine EGF for its effects on a number of parameters of bone cell metabolism. TGF alpha stimulated bone resorption in two organ culture systems, the fetal rat long bone and neonatal mouse...

We examined 19 hepatoma tissues for alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme and found that six have both the Kasahara isoenzyme and an alkaline phosphatase with a unique electrophoretic mobility, in addition to the liver-type enzyme. From two of six carcinoma tissues, the abnormal enzyme was partly purified and subjected to a detailed analysis, which clarified that the abnormal enzyme resembled a fetal ...

Fetal bone development is a complex process that is regulated and maintained by minerals, hormones, and growth factors delivered from the mother via the placenta. Various biochemical markers of fetal bone development have been identified. However, many aspects of this process remain unclear. The aim of the study was to measure the activities of serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase type 5b ...

Alkaline phosphatase from human first trimester placentas was purified, characterized, and compared with alkaline phosphatases from term placenta and liver. Three forms of first trimester placental alkaline phosphatase (I, IIa, and IIb) were isolated; their relative amounts were 35%, 39%, and 26%, respectively. Phosphatases I and IIa were found to be dimers, whereas phosphatase IIb appeared to ...

The human placenta is crucial for prenatal development and good pregnancy outcome. Maternal diabetic disorder influences normal intrauterine of individual expresses itself in the placenta. Due to progress diagnostic methods metabolic compensation macroscopic signs associated with maternal diabetes, e.g., placentomegaly, occur nowadays rarely. In microscopic picture there are no structural diffe...