title: Tumour growth and fetal uptake of amino acids in the pregnant rat.
abstract: The aim of the present investigation was to determine the effects of maternal tumour burden on fetal growth and to relate them to amino acid availability to the fetus. A fast-growing tumour, the Yoshida AH-130 ascites hepatoma, was inoculated into rats during pregnancy. Late pregnant rats bearing a rapidly-growing tumour presented a normal conceptus mass while the tumour cell content was unaffected by gestation. In addition, no changes were found in fetal uptake of amino acids as measured by the fetal accumulation of [14C]aminoisobutyrate and [14C] cycloleucine. However, increased alanine and leucine concentrations in the fetal circulation of the tumour-bearing rats suggest an enhanced fetal amino acid availability which does not seem to be the result of changes in placental or fetal relative blood flow, as indicated by the tissue accumulation of [14C]DDT, which were actually lower in the tumour-bearing rats. It may be suggested that tumour burden induces changes in placental amino acid transport systems.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Carbó
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: López-Soriano
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Argilés
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D000621:Aminoisobutyric Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D003515:Cycloleucine / Q000378:metabolism; D003634:DDT / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008114:Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D011247:Pregnancy; D011252:Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D000621:Aminoisobutyric Acids; D003515:Cycloleucine; C100049:2-aminoisobutyric acid; D003634:DDT