Oedema,
proteinuria,
hypertension (
EPH)-gestosis (
pre-eclampsia) is associated with a premature replacement of
hyaluronic acid by sulphated
glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), both in the umbilical cord arteries and in Wharton's jelly. It may be concluded from our previous report that such a phenomenon may be the result of reduction in degradation of these compounds. In order to support such a conclusion the activities of GAG-degrading
enzymes in normal umbilical cord arteries and those taken from newborns delivered by mothers with
EPH-gestosis were compared. It was found that
EPH-gestosis results in a significant reduction in the activities of neutral
endoglycosidases degrading most of the sulphated GAGs (except keratan sulphate). In the case of acidic
endoglycosidases, no characteristic alterations have been found. Only the activity of heparan sulphate-degrading
endoglycosidase significantly decreased. In contrast to the above-mentioned
endoglycosidases, the activities of
arylsulphatase B and
6-sulphatase distinctly increased. The decrease in the activities of
endoglycosidases are thought to be responsible for
EPH-gestosis-associated accumulation of sulphated GAGs in extracellular matrix of Wharton's jelly. This leads to the suspicion that
EPH-gestosis-induced changes in the GAGs composition may alter the fibrillogenesis conditions in Wharton's jelly. The sulphated GAGs accumulated in Wharton's jelly may interact with some
growth factors which modify the myofibroblasts' proliferation, gene expression, protein biosynthesis and other processes. A significance of
EPH-gestosis-induced alteration in Wharton's jelly is discussed.