Abstract
Primarily, our objectives were to compare system A amino acid transporter activity in the microvillous plasma membrane (MVM) of placentas from normally grown (appropriate for gestational age, AGA) and intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) fetuses delivered during the third trimester, as a whole and in relation to the severity of IUGR. Ten AGA and 16 IUGR pregnancies were studied at the time of elective cesarean section performed between 28 and 40 wk of gestation. Severity of IUGR pregnancies was assessed primarily by Doppler velocimetry and fetal heart rate monitoring. Placental MVM vesicles were prepared, and system A activity in these was measured. The transporter activity was significantly lower in IUGR compared with AGA pregnancies. Within the IUGR group system A activity was only significantly lower, compared with AGA, in cases that presented with a reduction in umbilical blood flow. We conclude that placental MVM system A activity is lower in IUGR compared with AGA pregnancies delivered during the third trimester. System A activity is related to the severity of IUGR.
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Abbreviations
- AGA:
-
appropriate for gestational age
- IUGR:
-
intrauterine growth restricted
- AIB:
-
aminoisobutyric acid
- MVM:
-
microvillous plasma membrane
- MeAIB:
-
methylaminoisobutyric acid
- PI:
-
pulsatility index
- FHR:
-
fetal heart rate
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dr. S. W. D'Souza, Dr. A. Kuruvilla, and Prof. R. D. H. Boyd for their contributions to this study. We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Dr. K. Thornburg (Oregon Health Sciences University) to the start of the collaborative project and to the development of the studies. We also thank Dr. Anna Maria Baggiani for her work in the laboratory.
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Supported by Italian National Research Council (CNR)-Targeted Project“Prevention and Control Disease Factors”; Subproject“FATMA” no. 95.00880.PF41.115.21807; by European Community Biomed 1, Contract no. BMH1-CT94-1715; by a Medical Research Council grant (C.P.S.); and an Action Research Endowment Fund (Department of Child Health, University of Manchester).
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Glazier, J., Cetin, I., Perugino, G. et al. Association between the Activity of the System A Amino Acid Transporter in the Microvillous Plasma Membrane of the Human Placenta and Severity of Fetal Compromise in Intrauterine Growth Restriction. Pediatr Res 42, 514–519 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199710000-00016
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199710000-00016
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