A study of the kinds of placental collegens from Iranian women to determine the standard rate of placental collagen

Background: Alteration in polymorphism of tissue collagens has been reported in association with some genetic and metabolic disorders. These alterations can be estimated quantitatively by measuring alpha-chain monomers derived from the polymeric form of collagens following treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). We studied the rate of placental collagen, total protein, and percentage of collagen chains and also electrophoretical movement of the collagen to find correlations between placental collagens and also to determine the standard rate of placental collagen. Materials and methods: To extract collagen type IV, five healthy Iranian placentas at term (38 weeks) were placed under pepsin digestion once. To extract collagen type I+III, five healthy Iranian placentas at term (38 weeks) were placed under pepsin digestion twice. The steps of extraction were controlled by SDS-PAGE. Results: The study showed that there is a high correlation (r=0.993) between the rate of collagen type IV and total protein. Also, there is a correlation (r=0.77) between the rate of collagen type I+III and the weight of the placenta after washing. Conclusions: The rate of α1 (III) collagen chains is about 23% of the total collagen.