Maciej Siewinski, Marian Grybose, Yousif Saleh, Marek Murawski, Godwin Bwire Ekonjo, Monika Grzesiak, Piotr Ziolkowski.
A comparison of Cysteine Peptidase activity and their inhibitors in the blood serum of pregnant women.
Pak J Med Sci Jan ;20(4):381-4.

Aim: To determine the activity of enzymes cysteine peptidases, cathepsin B and L and their inhibitors in pregnant women in their first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy as compared to the control group of matchable non pregnant women. Setting: Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Regional Hospital, Legniea and First Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Medical Academy, Wroclaw. Patients & Methods: Forty two pregnant women (14 each) in first, second and third trimester and 14 healthy non-pregnant women in contrast group. Results: Enzyme and their inhibitors specific activities gradually increased from the beginning to the end of the third trimester of pregnancy [for cathepsins B and L, and their inhibitors (2.7 and 2.1 folds)], respectively. The increase in activity was statistically significant in comparison to controls (p < 0.0001). The maximum increase was found in the third trimester before delivery. Conclusion: Differences in the activities of cysteine peptidases and their inhibitors have been found in the sera of healthy pregnant women during pregnancy in comparison to non-pregnant women as a control.

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