Abstract
The human and bovine placentae were investigated for synthesis of serum albumin and γ-globulin. The quantitative precipitin reaction and incorporation of 14C-glycine were used for this purpose. The following results were obtained. 1) When incubated at 37°C for an hour, human placental homogenate produced 65-200 μg of albumin and 35-75 μg of γ-globulin per gram of wet weight of placenta. These productions were not enhanced by use of acid hydrolyzates of plasma proteins as medium. They were markedly reduced by the addition of several metabolic inhibitors to the medium, but increased by the addition of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) at a final concentration of 3×10-3 M to the medium. No incorporation of 14C-glycine occurred. 2) No production of serum proteins was demonstrated in human placenta collected at an early stage of pregnancy and in bovine placenta.
