Acid hydrolases in amniotic fluid and chorionic villi at various stages of pregnancy

Abstract

A study was made at various stages of pregnancy of five acid hydrolases which occur in amniotic fluid and chorionic villi and which are relevant to serious storage disorders. In amniotic fluid β-galactosidase and α-mannosidase decreased moderately towards term, while β-glucosidase decreased markedly. N-Acetyl-β-glucosaminidase and β-glucuronidase were relatively unchanged. In chorionic villi N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase, β-galactosidase, and α-mannosidase were substantially decreased towards term, while β-glucosidase was unchanged and β-glucuronidase markedly increased. In both amniotic fluid and chorionic villi the enzyme pattern was approximately the same as that found in liver in a previous study. The findings suggest that these enzyme assays might be useful in the diagnosis of inborn errors prenatally by using amniotic fluid, and early postnatally by using chorionic villi.