The artificially perfused guinea-pig yolk sac placenta: transfer and uptake of water, glucose and amino acids.

The development of a new technique to investigate maternal-fetal transfer across the near term guinea-pig yolk sac placenta by in-situ perfusion of the yolk sac vessels is described. The maternal-fetal transfer of labeled water, D- and L-glucose, O-methyl-D-glucose (oMDG), D- and L-alanine, D- and L-aspartate, L-lactate and alpha-amino-isobutyric acid (AIBA) was investigated after injection of these substances into the maternal circulation. After 15 min of perfusion at 0.5 ml/min the water clearance was 132 +/- 12 microliters/min (SEM, n = 30). The clearances for D- or L-glucose were less than 1.2 microliters/min. The activity of label in the venous yolk sac perfusate of all other substances was not different from background activity when 14C-label was used. The clearance of 3H-L-alanine approached the clearance value of water. The total uptake (as defined for single-injection double tracer dilution experiments) from the perfusate of D-glucose, oMDG, alanine and aspartate in comparison to L-glucose was also studied. Mean D-glucose uptake was 11.2 +/- 1.9 percent (n = 8), it was significantly reduced to 4.9 +/- 2 percent (n = 5) by cytochalasin B (1 X 10(-4) mmol/l), and by increasing concentrations of D-glucose (1 to 20 mmol/l, n = 4). The uptake of oMDG was 8.8 +/- 1.5 percent (n = 8). L-alanine uptake was 25 +/- 3.4 percent, D-alanine uptake was 8.3 +/- 1.5 percent (n = 12). Both uptake values were decreased significantly by 10 mmol/l L-alanine, but unaffected by [Na+] (less than 15 mequ/l). There was no uptake of AIBA. The uptakes of L-aspartate were 34.9 +/- 3.7 percent and of D-aspartate 40.4 +/- 4.8 percent (n = 11). Both uptake values were significantly and reversibly reduced by 1 mmol/l L-aspartate and D-aspartate, and by low [Na+] (less than 15 mequ/l). It is concluded that water can move by diffusion from maternal circulation into the yolk sac capillaries in considerable amounts whereas the contribution of the yolk sac placenta to fetal nutrition with D-glucose, L-alanine and L-aspartate is negligible. The membranes of yolk sac cells contain specific transport systems for D-glucose, D-/L-alanine and D-/L-aspartate transfer. The function of the vitelline placenta in the near-term guinea-pig is comparable more to the gut than to the chorio-allantoic placenta.