Abstract
Prostacyclin has been proposed as therapy in pathological states associated with placental insufficiency. It is important therefore to determine whether this compound, and agents with similar structures and effects, cross the placenta, affecting the fetus. We have developed a method for the assay of carbacyclin (6-carba-prostacyclin) in fetal effluent in an in vitro placental perfusion model. Prostaglandin B2 (PGB2) is added as internal standard at 1.0μM and samples (or standards in fetal effluent) were subjected to solid phase extraction and reverse phase HPLC using acetonitrile-0.1% acetic acid as the mobile phase. The fractions containing PGB2 and carbacyclin were sequentially derivatized with ethereal diazomethane and BSTFA to yield methylester-trimethyl sllyl ethers. These were separated by capillary gas chromatography and monitored in a mass selective detector. For the PGB2 peak, mass fragments of m/z=420 and 321 were monitored, and for carbacyclin 418, and 321. Concentration of carbacyclin in experimental samples was calculated from standard curves of area ratio vs mass ratio. In the in vitro perfused placenta, when carbacyclin was added only to the maternal afferent circulation, it was detected in the fetal effluent. When maternal afferent contained 1.0μM carbacyclin, fetal effluent reached a concentration of 0.18uM within 20 minutes; when the maternal afferent contained 10μM, the fetal effluent reached 0.66μM. Thus carbacyclin crosses the placenta, and while the transfer does not appear to concentrate that agent, sufficient levels are reached to produce physiological responses.
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Walenga, R., Kuhn, D. & Stuart, M. THE PROSTACYCLIN ANALOG CARBACYCLIN CROSSES THE PLACENTA IN AN IN VITRO PLACENTAL PERFUSION MODEL. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 223 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00343
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00343