PHOSPHOTYROSINE-PROTEIN-PHOSPHATASES AND HUMAN-REPRODUCTION - AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT ACID-PHOSPHATASE (ACP1) AND SPONTANEOUS-ABORTION

ACP1 (low molecular weight acid phosphatase) genetic polymorphism has been studied in 173 women with a history of two or more consecutive sp ontaneous abortions and in 1508 control subjects, including 482 normal pregnant women. The proportion of carriers of ACP1C allele (*A/*C, * B/C) in women with a history of repeated spontaneous abortion is lowe r than in normal pregnant women and other control groups. Women with r epeated spontaneous abortion show a specific decrease of ACP1 S isofor m concentration as compared to normal pregnant women. The other compon ent of ACP1 activity, the F isoform, does not show a significant diffe rence between the two groups. The data suggest that women with ACP1 ge notypes showing a high concentration of S isoform are relatively 'prot ected' against spontaneous abortion. Preliminary analysis of a sample of 352 normal puerperae along with their newborn babies supports this hypothesis.