Asymmetrical transfer of inert hydrophilic solutes across rat placenta

Transfer of [14C]mannitol, 51Cr-labeled EDTA, and [14C]-inulin from mother to fetus and from fetus to mother was measured in rats under pentobarbital anesthesia. The clearance of the three substances from the mother to fetus (Kmf) was 2.69 +/- 0.38, 1.93 +/- 0.73, and 0.47 +/- 0.14 microliter/min (means +/- SE), respectively, and the clearance from fetus to mother (Kfm) was 5.97, 6.66, and 4.95 microliters/min, respectively (the SE could not be estimated). Kfm appears to be consistently higher than Kmf by an almost constant value of approximately 4 microliters/min. To explain this a hypothesis was proposed according to which volume flow circulates across the placenta. Solute-free water is driven transcellularly across the placental barrier from the maternal to the fetal side by a difference of osmotic pressure created by active transport of some solutes (mainly Na+) to the fetus. Water together with all solutes dissolved returns from fetus to mother by filtration through wide extracellular channels in the placenta down a hydrostatic pressure gradient.