the placenta in pseudoxanthoma elasticum clinical structural and immunochemical study pseudoxanthoma elasticum pxe is a rare genetic disorder clinically characterized by skin cardiovascular and eye manifestations mainly due to calcification and fragmentation of elastic fibres although infrequent complications during pregnancy in women affected by pxe have been reported the aim of the present study was to compare structural features of placentae at term from 14 control and 15 pxeaffected women in order to better understand if and how abnormal mineral andor matrix accumulation might affect placental function in pxe in all cases pregnancy fetus growth and delivery were normal both gross and light microscopy examination did not reveal dramatic differences between placentae of pxe patients and controls with regard to weight dimensions infarcts thrombi inflammatory lesions or vessels however necrotic changes and mineralization appeared statistically more pronounced in pxe by electron microscopy the most remarkable differences between pxe and control placentae were observed in the localization and morphology of mineral precipitates a significant higher deposition of mineral precipitates was observed associated with the matrixtype fibrinoid and among collagen fibrils especially on the maternal side immunocytochemistry revealed the presence of vitronectin and fibronectin associated with the pxespecific mineralizations and the absence of mineralization on the small and scarce elastic fibres in either controls or in pxe