Changes in binding capacity of sialic acid-specific lectins in the connective tissue of the uterine cervix during its physiological maturation.

The authors obtained small pieces of materials from portio vaginalis uteri of women being in postmenopause and premenopause, in different stages of pregnancy and parturition respectively after delivery. Biochemical investigations of these specimens were performed to study the background of physiological ripening of the uterine cervix. They examined the changes in activity of sialidase which cleaves terminal sialic acids. Investigations were performed with the use of Triticum vulgaris (WGA) and Limulus polyphemus (LPA) agglutinins (lectins) marked with FITC. These lectins bind specifically to the sialic acids. The evaluation of the lectin linkage was carried out with fluorescence microscope. Separately was evaluated the fluorescence of different extracellular matrix elements concerning the whole fluorescence of connective tissue as well. It was stated that the number of WGA- and LPA-binding sites of the uterine cervix compared to the non-pregnant state increases predominantly in the 1st trimester pregnancy. In relation to the 1st trimester we described a slight reduction of LPA- and WGA-binding sites in the 3rd trimester. The most impressing changes of LPA- and WGA-binding sites we observed during parturition in the extracellular matrix. These results coincide with the author's previous experience whereas the sialidase activity increases significantly during parturition. These data support the assumption that the terminal sialic acids and the sialidase play certain role in human uterine cervix during the gestational process. Their role at the time of pregnancy and delivery however remains to be cleared.