Umbilical vein-artery differences of plasma amino acids in the last trimester of human pregnancy

The plasma levels of 20 free amino acids in the umbilical veins and umbilical arteries of 8 premature (29--36 weeks gestation) and 16 mature (38--42 weeks gestation) newborn infants were measured at delivery. In premature newborn infants, most of the 20 amino acids were significantly higher in the u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBiology of the neonate Vol. 34; no. 1-2; p. 11
Main Authors Hayashi, S, Sanada, K, Sagawa, N, Yamada, N, Kido, K
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland 01.01.1978
Subjects
Amino Acids - blood
Female
Fetus - metabolism
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature
Maternal-Fetal Exchange
Nitrogen - metabolism
Placenta - metabolism
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Trimester, Third
Umbilical Arteries
Umbilical Veins
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Summary:The plasma levels of 20 free amino acids in the umbilical veins and umbilical arteries of 8 premature (29--36 weeks gestation) and 16 mature (38--42 weeks gestation) newborn infants were measured at delivery. In premature newborn infants, most of the 20 amino acids were significantly higher in the umbilical vein than in the umbilical artery. Only glutamic acid was significantly lower in the umbilical vein than in the umbilical artery. In mature newborn infants, 7 (Ala, Lys, Leu, Val, Ile, Phe and His) of the 20 plasma amino acids were significantly higher and 4 (Glu, Gly, Ser and Orn) were significantly lower in the umbilical vein than in the umbilical artery. These results indicate that the relative contribution of individual amino acids to the placental supply of nitrogen to the human fetus discernibly changes with increasing fetal age during the last trimester of gestation.
ISSN:0006-3126
DOI:10.1159/000241099