Regional myocardial glucose utilization by developing fetal and maternal hearts.

Regional glucose utilization of the developing fetal feline heart was assessed during three stages of gestation and compared with the maternal heart and non-pregnant controls. The specific aims were to determine: 1) if glucose utilization by the whole heart changes from early to late gestation; 2) if there are differences in glucose utilization by specific regions of the heart; 3) if these regional differences in glucose utilization are consistent throughout gestation. Regional myocardial glucose utilization was measured using the [14C] 2-deoxyglucose high spatial resolution autoradiographic technique. Eleven fetal and 16 adult hearts were studied. Two of the fetuses were at 49 days of gestation, three were at 35 days, and six were at 25 days of gestation. This was the first study to assess regional myocardial glucose utilization in the developing fetus. Glucose utilization by the fetal heart was greater than that seen in the normal control adult or maternal heart, and was highest during early gestation. The posterior wall of the left ventricle had glucose utilization twice that measured for the anterior wall. Other regions were not significantly different. This information indicates that availability of glucose to the fetus is important for normal cardiac metabolism and development.