Increased hyaluronate synthesis and changes in glycosaminoglycan ratios and molecular weight of proteoglycans synthesised by cultured cervical tissue from ewes at various stages of pregnancy.

Culture of cervical tissue with radiolabelled precursors showed that, in pregnant ewes, net hyaluronate synthesis increased between days 120-140 but that the marked polydispersity of hyaluronate remained unchanged. In the less sulphated of two proteoglycan populations, the proportion of heparan sulphate increased and that of dermatan sulphate decreased, while the less polydisperse more highly sulphated species showed a significant increase in molecular weight with pregnancy.