The transport of sugars across the perfused choroid plexus of the sheep.

The blood-perfused choroid plexuses from the lateral ventricles of the sheep were used to determine the nature of sugar exchanges between blood and cerebrospinal fluid (c.s.f.). There was a net entry of sugars from blood to c.s.f. at all concentrations of sugars which were used and this net entry was seen when the sugars were measured either directly by enzymic analysis or by the use of isotopically labelled sugars. From competition experiments the order of affinity of the transporting system from both blood to c.s.f. and c.s.f. to blood was the same, i.e. 2-deoxy-D-glucose much greater than D-glucose greater than 3-O-methyl-D-glucose much greater than D-galactose. The transport of sugars from c.s.f. to blood and blood to c.s.f. consists in both cases of a non-saturable and a saturable component. However, the affinity of the two systems is markedly different, the blood to c.s.f. being a system of low affinity and high capacity while that of the c.s.f. to blood has a high affinity and a low capacity. The concentration of glucose in the newly formed c.s.f. was estimated from the rate of c.s.f. secretion and the net flux of glucose across the choroid plexus. The concentration of glucose in this fluid was some 45-60% of that in plasma and so the low glucose concentration observed in bulk c.s.f. would appear to be a result of the entry process and not that of cerebral metabolism.