RESUMEN
The concentrations of some metals (Cu, Zn, Fe, Pb) in human placentas at term in two populations living in polluted (Krakow, n = 10) and non-polluted (Bieszczady, n = 13) areas were investigated by means of graphite furnace--or flame atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS or F-AAS). The concentrations of Cu, Fe and Pb were higher in Krakow vs. Bieszczady, while Zn concentration was lower, but these differences were not significant. The following results were obtained for the whole studied group: Cu 1.17 +/- 0.25 microg/g w.w., Zn 8.44 +/- 2.10 microg/g w.w., Fe 115.0 +/- 31.9 microg/g w.w., Pb 51.6 +/- 18.0 ng/g w.w. The inverse accumulation of Zn and Pb is in accord with previous observations. In the whole group of placenta specimens the statistically significant correlation was also found between concentrations of Cu and Pb. The correlations between metal concentrations and placental or maternal features were the strongest for lead.
Asunto(s)
Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales/análisis , Contaminantes Ambientales/análisis , Metales Pesados/análisis , Placenta/química , Adulto , Monitoreo del Ambiente/métodos , Femenino , Humanos , Polonia , Embarazo , Población Rural/estadística & datos numéricos , Espectrofotometría Atómica , Población Urbana/estadística & datos numéricosRESUMEN
The authors demonstrate the dependence of development of a uniform layer of syncytiotrophoblast with good cytochrome oxidase activity in placental villi on the absence of noxious industrial by-products in the environment of the pregnant woman. The degree of deviation from the developmental norm observed in regions free from industrial pollution can serve as measure of the degree of that pollution in urban-industrial regions.
Asunto(s)
Complejo IV de Transporte de Electrones/análisis , Contaminación Ambiental , Trofoblastos/enzimología , Femenino , Histocitoquímica , Humanos , Microscopía Electrónica , Microvellosidades/enzimología , Embarazo , Trofoblastos/ultraestructuraAsunto(s)
Contaminantes Atmosféricos/toxicidad , Óxido de Aluminio/toxicidad , Aluminio/toxicidad , Oxidorreductasas/metabolismo , Placenta/enzimología , Adulto , Antropometría , Femenino , Humanos , Hipertrofia , Metalurgia , Tamaño de los Órganos , Oxidación-Reducción , Placenta/patología , Polonia , EmbarazoAsunto(s)
Contaminantes Atmosféricos/efectos adversos , Fluoruros/efectos adversos , Enfermedades Placentarias/inducido químicamente , Placenta/efectos de los fármacos , Insuficiencia Placentaria/inducido químicamente , Femenino , Retardo del Crecimiento Fetal/inducido químicamente , Humanos , Recién Nacido de Bajo Peso , Recién Nacido , Masculino , Polonia , EmbarazoRESUMEN
The activity of some intracellular oxidative enzymes was studied histochemically in the cells of the thyroid follicles of teleost fishes of the genus Xiphophorus. The experimental material consisted of animals of the red swordtail and Mexican swordtail breeds of Xiphophorus helleri and of melanotic Xiphophorus maculatus fishes. Observations were carried out on adult specimens of both sexes, including pregnant femals of Mexican swordtail. Moreover, immature Mexican swordtails of both sexes were examined. Thyroid follicles were found to be present in the subpharyngeal region of all fishes studied. The distribution of these follicles as well as their number and form depended on sex, age and on the analysed stage of prenancy. A smaller number and size of thyroid follicles were characteristic of immature specimens, whereas they were most numerous in the thyroids of pregnant fishes. The follicles were arranged in characteristic dense aggregations, especially in the melanotic platyfish. The follicular eipthelium in the fishes under study was usually cubical, but pregnant and non-pregnant adult females also contained a considerable number of larger follicles with flattened epithelium. Besides, thyroid follicles of multilayer epithelium were rather frequently encountered, especially in male fishes, irrespective of their age. The thyroid follicle cells of these fishes demonstrated invariably high activities of reduced NAD and NADP dehydrogenases and of beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, and a low activity of succinat dehydrogenase. The intensities of alpha-glycerophosphate and lactate dehydrogenases and of cytochrome oxidase varied with sex, age and breed of the studied fishes. The immature and pregnant fishes showed the most clearly pronounced differences in the intensity of enzymic activity, the thyroid follicles of immature specimens revealing a high activity of lactate dehydrogenase and low activity of cytochrome oxidase, an inverse picture being seen in pregnant fishes. The adult forms of both sexes exhibited an enhanced activity of cytochrome oxidase and a decline in that of lactate dehydrogenase. The observed differences in the intensities of enzymic acitivities in the thyroids of the studied fishes are related with functions of this gland which in the period of growth are different from those in the period of sexual maturity, and certainly also with individual metabolic characteristics of the studied fishes.