Synthesis of glycosaminoglycans in fibroblasts from abortuses with trisomy, triploidy, and from children with Down's syndrome.

A comparative study has been made of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) accumulation in human fibroblasts with trisomy 7 and triploidy from spontaneous abortuses, fibroblasts with triploidy from induced abortuses, fibroblasts from patients with Down's syndrome and diploid fibroblasts from age-matched controls. The study demonstrated that the incorporation of [3H] glucosamine into hyaluronic acid by fibroblasts with trisomy 7 and triploidy, established from spontaneous abortuses, and from two out of three induced abortuses with triploidy, was 2.6-5.3 times lower than control incorporation. One strain of fibroblasts from an induced abortus with triploidy (IMG-1062) did not show any differences in GAG production when compared with diploid fibroblasts. However, the strains from children with Down's syndrome revealed normal or even increased levels of hyaluronic acid production. The data support the contention that the decreased hyaluronic acid synthesis in fibroblasts with an abnormal karyotype is related to spontaneous abortion.