Lipid and glucose metabolism in human placental culture

Placental culture models have been used to increase the understanding of endocrinology and pathophysiology in pregnancy. This article describes glucose and lipid metabolism in several of these models. Of special interest is the availability of arachidonic acid for the production of prostanoids. Ten placentas were collected at the time of cesarean section in term pregnancies without labor. Minced villous tissue was incubated for 48 hours in media with a glucose concentration of 100, 200, or 500 mg/dl. Tissue was dispersed in the media or was left as a single clump during the incubation. Glucose levels in the culture media were measured at 8, 20, 32, and 48 hours. Tissue lipid levels were measured before and after incubation in seven placentas. At 8 hours, glucose utilization ranged from 2.38 +/- 0.40 to 9.44 +/- 1.22 mumol/gm tissue/hr (mean +/- SEM). By 48 hours the cumulative glucose utilization ranged from 1.56 +/- 0.09 to 6.87 +/- 0.38 mumol/gm tissue/hr. Tissue lipid analysis showed most of the fatty acids to be in the phospholipids initially (4477 +/- 179 micrograms/gm tissue). Subsequent to incubation for 48 hours, phospholipid levels fell to a range of 2686 +/- 90 to 3466 +/- 157 micrograms/gm tissue in various culture conditions (p less than 0.005 compared with initial values). Whereas phospholipid levels decreased during incubation, levels of triglycerides and nonesterified fatty acids increased significantly in placental tissue. Arachidonic acid, the precursor of prostaglandins, thromboxane, and prostacyclin, makes up about one quarter of the fatty acid in the initial placental phospholipid. Arachidonic acid follows the pattern of total fatty acids during incubation; it is released from phospholipid and is converted to nonesterified fatty acid and triglyceride. We may conclude from this study that each placenta has a unique glucose utilization rate and a unique capacity to produce triglyceride. In tissue culture, arachidonic acid is released to its nonesterified state much more quickly than it can be converted to prostanoids by cyclooxygenase. The choice of initial glucose concentration, tissue preparation (dispersed in media or left as single clump), and time of incubation all may determine the rate of glucose metabolism, the rate of phospholipid breakdown, the rate of triglyceride production, and the quantity of nonesterified arachidonic acid in placental tissue culture.