Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 7, 2025

Quantitating Iron Transport Across the Mouse Placenta In Vivo Using Nonradioactive Iron Isotopes
08:45

Quantitating Iron Transport Across the Mouse Placenta In Vivo Using Nonradioactive Iron Isotopes

Published on: May 10, 2022

2.1K

Fetal membranes exhibit similar nutrient transporter expression profiles to the placenta

Ryan C V Lintao1, Ananth Kumar Kammala2, Natasha Vora3

  • 1Division of Basic Science and Translational Research, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 301 University Blvd., Galveston, TX, 77555-1062, USA; College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, 547 Pedro Gil St., Manila, 1000, Philippines.

Placenta
|March 13, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Human fetal membranes express nutrient transporters, similar to placental cells. This finding is crucial for understanding nutrient uptake during pregnancy and requires further functional studies.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • Human Physiology

Background:

  • Fetal growth relies on nutrient exchange via the utero-placental unit.
  • Nutrient transfer is mediated by solute carrier (SLC) and adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette (ABC) proteins.
  • The role of human fetal membranes (FM) in nutrient uptake is largely unknown, despite their known role in drug transport.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine nutrient transporter gene and protein expression in human FM.
  • To compare nutrient transporter expression in FM with placental tissues and BeWo cells.

Main Methods:

  • RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of placental and FM tissues and cells.
  • Identification of solute carrier (SLC) and adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette (ABC) transporter genes.
  • Proteomic analysis using nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (nanoLC-MS/MS) to confirm protein expression.

Main Results:

  • Human FM tissues and cells express nutrient transporter genes, with expression patterns similar to placental tissues and BeWo cells.
  • Transporters for macronutrients and micronutrients, including carbohydrate, vitamin, amino acid, fatty acid, cholesterol, and nucleoside transporters, were identified in both FM and BeWo cells.
  • Proteomic analysis confirmed the expression of these nutrient transporters at the protein level.

Conclusions:

  • Human fetal membranes express a range of nutrient transporters.
  • This study provides foundational knowledge for understanding nutrient uptake in the FM during pregnancy.
  • Further functional studies are necessary to elucidate the specific properties and roles of these transporters in FM.
Abstract

Keywords:
ABCATP-binding cassette proteinsFetal membraneNutrient transportPlacentaSLCSolute carrier proteins

More Related Videos

The 4-vessel Sampling Approach to Integrative Studies of Human Placental Physiology In Vivo12:17

The 4-vessel Sampling Approach to Integrative Studies of Human Placental Physiology In Vivo

Published on: August 2, 2017

10.7K
Ex Vivo Perfusion of the Rodent Placenta06:54

Ex Vivo Perfusion of the Rodent Placenta

Published on: May 30, 2019

9.9K

Related Concept Videos

Fetal Circulation01:14

Fetal Circulation

Fetal circulation is a unique system that facilitates the exchange of gases, nutrients, and waste products between the developing fetus and the mother. This intricate process takes place through a special organ called the placenta.
Two umbilical arteries transport blood from the fetus to the placenta. At the placenta, the blood absorbs oxygen and nutrients while simultaneously eliminating waste products. This oxygen-enriched and nutrient-rich blood then returns to the fetus through one...
1.1K
Transcytosis of IgG01:15

Transcytosis of IgG

Transcytosis is the process in which molecules are internalized by endocytosis, transported across the cell, and released through exocytosis from the opposite end of the cell. Molecules such as insulin, immunoglobulins, and certain nutrients are transferred through the recycling endosomes by recycling and transcytosis.
IgG molecules from a mother undergo transcytosis starting around 13 weeks of gestation. The amount of IgG transferred and entering the fetal blood circulation increases with...
2.8K
Physiological Barriers01:25

Physiological Barriers

Physiological barriers are semi-permeable cellular structures restricting drug diffusion into intracellular compartments and tissues. There are six types of physiological barriers: blood endothelial, cell membrane, blood-brain, blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood-placenta, and blood-testis barriers.
The blood endothelial barrier is the most porous of these. It allows all small ionized, un-ionized, and lipophilic molecules to pass through the endothelial lining into the interstitial space...
3.7K
Development of Blood Vessels01:07

Development of Blood Vessels

The development of the vascular system in a fetus is a complex and intricate process that begins as early as 15 to 16 days post-conception. This process starts outside the embryo, specifically in the mesoderm of the yolk sac, chorion, and connecting stalk. Approximately two days later, the formation of blood vessels occurs within the embryo itself.
The initial formation of this system is facilitated by the small amount of yolk present in the ovum and yolk sac. Blood vessels originate from...
676
The Significance of Membrane Transport01:44

The Significance of Membrane Transport

The transport of solutes across the cell membrane is essential for metabolic processes, like maintaining cell size and volume, generating the action potential, exchanging nutrients and gases, etc. Membrane transport can be either passive or active. It can be simple diffusion, facilitated, or mediated transport aided by transport proteins such as transporters and channels.
Transporters facilitate either an active or passive movement of solutes. They can allow a single-molecule transport down its...
28.2K