Lactate carriers in the artificially perfused human term placenta

Thirty-two isolated cotyledons from human term placentae were perfused artificially with a tissue culture medium on the maternal and the fetal side. The transfer and uptake of labelled L-lactate and D-lactate (test substance) relative to L-glucose (reference substance, extracellular marker) were investigated in steady-state experiments (n = 9) and in a single passage paired tracer dilution technique (n = 23). The L-lactate transfer exceeded the L-glucose transfer two to three times. The L-lactate uptake into the trophoblast--both from the maternal and the fetal side--was more than three times that of D-lactate. L-lactate transfer and uptake were inhibited by phloretin. The L-lactate transfer showed a saturation kinetic at increasing chemical concentrations of lactate. It is concluded that lactate carriers exist both in the maternal and fetal side of the trophoblast.