Glucose utilization by the placenta and fetal tissues in fed and fasted pregnant rabbits.

Glucose utilization by the placenta and individual fetal tissues was studied in vivo in conscious pregnant rabbits at 29 days of gestation. In the fed state, the rate of glucose utilization was similar in the placenta and the gravid uterus, suggesting that the rate of fetal glucose utilization was approximately 40 nmol/min/g. A 96-h maternal fast induced a significant decrease in glucose utilization by the myoendometrium and in the glucose utilization index by fetal liver and brown adipose tissue. No modification was observed in other fetal tissues. These results indicate that glucose utilization by the placenta and the whole fetus from 96-h fasted rabbits does not decrease despite profound changes in endocrine and metabolic maternal parameters.