AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 246, Issue 3 289-R298, Copyright © 1984 by American Physiological Society
Red blood cell as glucose carrier: significance for placental and cerebral glucose transfer
J. A. Jacquez
At plasma glucose values of 5 mM (90 mg/100 ml) the maximum glucose
transport capacity of the human red cell membrane is 12,000 times the rate
of glucose utilization by the red blood cell. Mammals, other than primates,
that have been tested have a comparable high-capacity system during fetal
life, which is lost soon after birth. It has been suggested that the
availability of the water space of the red blood cell for distribution of
glucose facilitates transfer across the placenta during fetal life in all
mammals and across the blood-brain barrier in adult primates. Though
plausible, more comparative studies of glucose transport in red blood cells
of other species and direct experimental evaluations of the contribution of
the red blood cell to glucose transfer across the placenta and the
blood-brain barrier are needed.
