Abstract
Fetal energy requirements can be met partially by protein catabolism during maternal substrate deprivation in sheep. The mechanism of this phenomenon is poorly understood. Hindlimb metabolism was studied in 7 chronically catheterized sheep pregnancies in the fed state. Catheters were placed in the fetal aorta and femoral vein in order to measure arteriovenous differences for substrate across the hindlimb. The hindlimb took up 2.9>5.8<8.7 μM/min of glucose (95% conf. limits) and put out 4.3>10.8<17.3 μM/min of lactate (95% conf. limits). Neither acetoacetate nor β-hydroxybutyrate were taken up but arterial levels of these substrates correlated with maternal arterial levels. Fructose was neither taken up nor released by the fetal hindlimb. Uptake of alanine was correlated with fetal arterial levels of alanine [y=0.190x -0.015 (mM/L)] and glucose (both p<.001) but was not correlated with levels of arterial ketone bodies. At low levels of arterial alanine and glucose, alanine was released by the hindlimb. The ovine fetus can autoregulate its alanine supply. This may provide a mechanism for the shift in fetal fuel sources during maternal fasting in the sheep.
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Levitsky, L., Burd, L., Paton, J. et al. 264 HINDLIMB METABOLISM IN A CHRONIC FETAL SHEEP PREPARATION: FETAL AUTOREGULATION OF ALANINE UPTAKE. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 484 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00275
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00275