physiological significance of placental aminopeptidases

我们的研究目的是纯化胎盘氨基肽酶，揭示其参与胎儿可能偏离的生物活性肽的代谢和降解，并显示其在胎盘功能检测中的临床应用。以下是我们纯化的7种氨基肽酶：P-LAP（催产素酶）、氨基肽酶M、血管紧张素转换酶（激酶II）、氨基肽酶A、氨基肽酶I（碳肽酶N）、二肽基肽酶IV、后脯氨酸内肽酶、氨基肽酶b。我们的研究表明，妊娠血清和胎盘中存在氨基肽酶，可降解催产素、抗利尿激素、血管紧张素II和III、缓动肽、内源性阿片类药物、叶黄素、胸腺肽和脾肽。已知妊娠期间血清氨肽酶活性增加。然而，它们的生理意义尚不完全清楚。我们的研究表明，妊娠血清中的氨基肽酶与催产素、血管紧张素和布拉第肽等的降解有关，我们展示了这些氨基肽酶作为胎盘功能测试的可能临床应用。

Our research aimed to purify placental aminopeptidase, to show their involvement in the metabolization and degradation of bioactive peptides possibly devited from the fetus, and to show their clinical application for placental function test.The following are the 7 aminopeptidases that we purified: P-LAP(oxytocinase),aminopeptidase M,Angiotensin-converting enzyme(kininase II),Aminopeptidase A,Kininase I (carborypeptidase N),Dipeptidyl peptidase IV,Post-proline endopeptidase, aminopeptidase B.Degradation of bioactive peptides by high purified placental aminopeptidases was studied using HPLC. Our study showed the aminopeptidases in pregnancy serum and placenta, which degrade oxytocin,vasopressin,angiotensin II and III,bradykinin,endogenous opioids,tuftsin,thymopentin and splenopentin. Pregnancy serum aminopeptidase activities are known to increase during pregnancy. However, their physiological significance is not completely known. Our study showed the aminopeptidases in pregrancy serum responsible for degradation of oxytocin,angiotensin and buradykinin etc.We showed possible clinical use of these aminopeptidases as a placental function test.