Summary
Permeability of the fetal endothelium within the guinea pig placental labyrinth is studied by means of horse-radish peroxidase (HRP) and ionic lanthanum as diffusion tracers. The paracellular transport of HRP is restricted by the occluding junctions of the fetal endothelium. In contrast, ionic lanthanum readily permeates most of the intercellular junctions and rapidly infiltrates the basal lamina. Freeze-fracture replicas reveal zonulae occludentes connecting the fetal endothelial cells. The network of the zonulae occludentes is variable, exhibiting highly complex areas as well as single strand interconnections. A correlation between the permeability studies and freeze-fracture findings is discussed.
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Supported by grants from the Consejo Nactional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas (CONICET), the Alexander-von-Hemboldt-Stiftung and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Research Professor of the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Stiftung and Career Investigator of CONICET
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de Gaisán, E.O., Aoki, A., Heinrich, D. et al. Permeability studies of the guinea pig placental labyrinth. Anat Embryol 171, 297–304 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347018
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347018