[Activity of agglutinin inhibitor of the kujavian pea (Pisum sativum L.) in mothers' blood and umbilical cord blood considering the course of pregnancy and delivery].

The aim of the paper was to evaluate the activity of inhibitor of the phytoagglutinin Pisum sativum (IfPs) in sera of mothers' and umbilical blood of their newborns in confrontation with the course of pregnancy and delivery. The investigations involved 152 tests of sera collected from women delivering at Department of Obstetrics and Perinatology in the Institute of Gynecology and Obstetrics PMU in Szczecin in the years 1992-1993, as well as 156 samples of sera stemming from their newborn infants and were taken from the umbilical cord vessels. The method of investigations being used in the paper was the reaction of inhibiting the phytohemagglutination, wherein the inhibiting action of sera in bearing women and of sera in umbilical blood exerted on agglutinating one was assessed in relation to human erythrocytes of the group 0 with Pisum sativum lectin properties. The accepted titer of inhibitor of the agglutinin Pisum sativum (IfPs) was expressed as the highest dilution of serum, at which complete inhibition of phytohemagglutination was still preserved. The performed investigations have disclosed statistically significant differences between the activity of IfPs occurring in sera of the mothers and the inhibiting factor in umbilical blood sera of the newborns (Tab. 1). No effect of the duration of pregnancy and the course of pregnancy on the IfPs activity in sera of mothers was disclosed. The absence of inhibitor of Pisum sativum lectin in umbilical blood sera was essentially frequently recorded in premature termination of pregnancy between 31-37 weeks of its duration as well as in sera of newborns born by cesarean section and newborns with birth mass being equal or lower than 2500 g in comparison to sera of full term newborns born by forces of nature (Tab. 2, 3, 5). The birth status of newborns according to Apgar scale did not have any influence of IfPs activity in their sera, however, IfPs activity in sera of umbilical blood was statistically significantly more frequent in cases of deliveries lasting longer than 4 hours as compared to its activity in cases of deliveries being shorter than 4 hours (Tab. 4). On the basis of results of the performed investigations it has been revealed that at the period of intensive divisions of cells, their differentiation (intrauterine period of fetal development) the activity of the inhibitors of phytohemagglutination appearing in body fluids of human being is residual only or does not appear at all. The IfPs activity was intensifying with the progress of intrauterine maturation of the fetus. In the paper closer attention was focussed on the new point of view concerning the role of phytoagglutinins and endogenic lectins as well as their inhibitors in various pathological processes particularly neoplastic ones.