The Transfer of Ethyl Glucuronide in the Dually Perfused Ex Vivo Placental Perfusion Model: Implications for Alcohol Screening during Pregnancy

• Main Author: Matlow, Jeremy
• Other Authors: Koren, Gideon
• Language: en_ca
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: ethyl glucuronide; placenta; 0419
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/33434

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and because maternal self-reports are often unreliable, a biomarker of alcohol use during pregnancy is needed to accurately determine fetal exposure. Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a direct metabolite of ethanol that has been detected in the meconium of infants born to mothers who consumed alcohol during pregnancy. In the current study, a method was developed and validated for EtG detection in placental perfusate and tissue using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Subsequently, the ex vivo human placental perfusion model was used to investigate whether EtG crosses the human placenta. The validated GC-MS method showed sufficient sensitivity in detecting EtG in placental perfusate and tissue. EtG crossed the placenta slowly and transfer was incomplete after 3 hours of perfusion. EtG appears to cross the human placenta and, hence, to represent both maternal and fetal exposure to alcohol.