Abstract
We have previously reported the uptake of 14C-leucine and 14C -glutamic acid in rat eggs of the preimplantation stage. In this experiment, the simultaneous uptake of 3H-leucine and 14C-glutamic acid in rat eggs by the double labelling method was studied to compare the single uptake of 3H-leucine and the previously reported single uptake of 14C-glutamic acid in rat eggs.
(1) Both the single uptake of 3H-leucine and simultaneous uptake of 3H-leucine+14C-glutamic acid in rat eggs were found to increase until 60 minutes after culture. When glucose, lactate and pyruvate were added, the uptake of these amino acids was augmented.
(2) The uptake of 3H-leucine and 14C-glutamic acid in rat eggs by the double labelling method tended to be reduced, compared to the single uptake of either 3H-leucine or 14C-glutamic acid.
(3) Using the uptake of 3H-leucine in rat eggs as an index basis of 1, the uptake of 14C-glutamic acid in the same eggs showed the same pattern whether singly or doubly labelled. The similarity between the ratios of leucine and glutamic acid to total free aminoacids in the uterine fluid and the ratios of uptake of these aminoacids in the present experiment suggested the possible relationship between the contents of free amino acids in the uterine fluid and the uptake of amino acids.
