ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the isolation and characterization of the immunochemically detected pregnancy proteins as well as soluble and solubilized (membrane-associated) placental tissue proteins, and summarizes the characteristics of these proteins in the form of tables. In addition, the characteristics of some pregnancy specific hormones and enzymes. For the isolation of the immunochemically detected pregnancy proteins, sera from pregnant women or soluble extracts from human term placentas (afterbirths) were used. As starting material for the isolation of the soluble placental tissue proteins (PPs), saline extracts from human term placentas were used. The proteins PP12 and PP14 have been isolated from amniotic fluid, where they occur in larger amounts. Isolation and purification of the pregnancy and placental proteins was achieved by using a selected combination of common fractionation procedures, such as fractionation with salts or ethanol, euglobulin precipitation, gel filtration, ion exchange chromatography, preparative zone electrophoresis, hydroxyapatite chromatography, immunoadsorption, and other affinity chromatography techniques.
