Pregnancy Induced Hypertension: Observations on Chemical-Physical Properties of Syncytiotrophoblast Plasma Membranes from Human Placenta

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Abstract
The Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH) was associated to alterations of ion transport, which may be due to abnormalities of membrane composition and function.We studied the syncytiotrophoblast plasma membranes of PIH mothers compared with normal ones.We observed a decreased microviscosity and an alteration of cholesterol to phospholipid ratio, together with an increased percentage of unsaturated fatty acid respect to the controls. We therefore hypothesized an involvment of the chemical-physical properties of the syncytiotrophoblast plasma membranes in the modified functional properties observed in the PIH.