Histochemical Evaluation of the Limited Proteolysis in Fibrinoid Placenta Processes during its Calcification Combined with the Iron Deficiency Anemia in Gravidas

Since both calcium and iron significantly affect the level of free radical processes the study was elaborated to determine the level of limited proteolysis processes in fibrinoid placenta of different localization areas depending on the calcium deposits versions. The purpose of the study is to determine the levels of limited proteolysis in fibrinoid placenta of different localization areas depending on the version of the calcium deposits based on the ninhydrin-Schiff reaction on "free" amino groups of proteins with quantitative assessment of the staining results by means of computer microspectrophotometry. Materials and methods. In terms of our research 164 observations of placental calcification including 84 observations of iron deficiency anemia (IDAG) and 80 observations of gravidity without anemia were studied. Ninhydrin-Schiff reaction on "free" amino groups of proteins with quantitative assessment of the staining results was conducted by means of computer microspectrophotometry on the digital copy of the image with the fibrinoid areas on the basis of the computer program ImageJ. Research results. Placentas' histological study demonstrated that in case of term labour there was no hypermaturity found, in case of preterm labour there was no preterm maturation of chorionic tree or uterine-placental area found, that could be causes of placental calcinosis. Therefore, etiology of observed calcinosis did not relate to preterm maturation of the placenta. In histological sections of the placenta calcium deposits were found both in the area of the chorionic tree and basal lamina. A part of deposits was not associated with placental fibrinoid, while another part was in different ways involved into placental fibrinoid. Calcium deposits were evaluated according to the principles elaborated before. Those deposits not involved into fibrinoid were either of fine granular or lamellar character, and sometimes they were of a combined character and differed by their localization. The differences between the average signs of optical density coloration when applying ninhydrin-Schiff reaction on "free" amino groups of protein were discovered both in fibrinoid as the part of the chorial tree and in the basal plate of the placenta in particular types of calcium deposits. Conclusions. According to the histochemical study gravidas with iron deficiency anemia were characterized by fibrinoid with deposits of calcium type II and type IV (fine-granular deposits) both in chorial tree and in the basal plate of the placenta where the limited proteolysis processes increased compared to the observations without anemia.