Nutrient transport across the placenta

The placenta forms a selective barrier that functions to transport nutrient s that are of critical use to the fetus. Nutrient transport across the plac enta is regulated by many different active transporters found on the surfac e of both maternal and fetal facing membranes of the placenta. The presence of these transporters in the placenta has been implicated in the facilitat ion of nutrient diffusion and proper fetal growth. In this review, recent d evelopments concerning nutrient transporters that regulate glucose, amino a cid, fatty acid, and nucleoside transplacental movement are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.