Development of a Laboratory Animal Model for Functional Studies of three Human Pregnancy Proteins: α-Foetoprotein (AFP), β-Glycoprotein (SP-l) and Pregnancy Zone Protein (PZP)

Abstract

A murine model for the study of the function of three human pregnancy-associated serum proteins has been developed. The human proteins are pregnancy zone protein (PZP) of maternal origin, pregnancy-specific β1-glycoprotein (SPil) of placental origin and ocfoetoprotein (AFP) of foetal origin. The maternal serum levels of murine SP-l (PAMP-2) and murine AFP during pregnancy reflect the growth of the placenta and foetuses respectively, indicating the usefulness of the model in teratogenic studies.