Abstract
BIOCHEMICAL analysis of in vivo RNA metabolism in the rat foetus has been hindered by inability to adequately label foetal RNA1–5. In contrast, in vitro studies of RNA metabolism in mammalian blastocysts have not been hampered by this restriction as uptake of isotopic uridine is adequate6–8. The inability of the foetus to incorporate labelled uridine administered to the mother may be due to dependence on the maternal circulation and placental transport. Our experiments show that rat foetal and maternal RNA can be labelled to yield a high specific activity RNA by administering 3H-cytidine to the pregnant animal. Moreover, they indicate that placental transport is not the limiting factor in the use of labelled uridine as a precursor for foetal RNA. Although labelled cytidine has been reported to cross the rat placenta in later stages of pregnancy3, its value in labelling foetal RNA has not been demonstrated previously.
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LARKIN, L., STEVENS, A. Foetal and Maternal RNA labelled with 3H-Cytidine. Nature New Biology 235, 107–108 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio235107a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio235107a0
