Abstract
The primary objective of this study was to obtain information on placental transfer mechanisms of amino acids in relation to their concentrations in amniotic fluid.
At 120 days of gestation fascicularis monkeys underwent an operative procedure: catheters were placed in a fetal common carotid artery, in the amniotic cavity, and in a maternal femoral vein. A priming dose of 200 mg/kg L-phenylalanine and 36 mg/kg p-chlorophenylalanine were administered followed by a two-hour infusion of 150 mg L-phenylalanine and 36 mg p-chlorophenylalanine. Maternal and fetal blood as well as amniotic fluid were sampled at 0, 1, 3, and 5 hours.
Comparing the amino acid concentrations in maternal and fetal blood and in amniotic fluid we observed that the amino acids in fetal blood significantly exceeded those in maternal blood and that the amino acid levels of the amniotic fluid were in most instances between the maternal and fetal blood amino acid concentrations. These differences were particularly striking when phenylalanine and tyrosine levels in the three compartments were studied. These data provide basic information on placental transfer mechanisms which will be of importance in the management of maternal phenylketonuria.
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Pueschel, S., Boylan, J., Jackson, B. et al. AMINO ACID CONCENTRATIONS IN MATERNAL AND FETAL BLOOD AND IN AMNIOTIC FLUID AFTER ADMINISTRATION OF A PHENYLALANINE LOAD IN PREGNANT FASCICULARIS MONKEYS. Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 224 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-00787
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-00787