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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 May 8.
Published in final edited form as: Tumour Biol. 2008 Jul 9;29(3):161–180. doi: 10.1159/000143402

Figure 4. Production and distribution of AFP in the Fetal-maternal unit. A. Fetal-maternal distribution of AFP.

Figure 4

Radiolabeled purified AFP was injected into various fetal and maternal fluid comartments and the presence of radioactivity in other fetal and maternal after different times determined. AFP synthesis was determined by incorporation of radiolabel arginine into cultures of tissues and the location of mRNAAFP in fetal and maternal tissues determined. AFP is synthesized in the fetal yolk sac and liver and rapidly enters fetal blood and amniotic fluid, and then the maternal blood. Modified from Sell and Alexander [24]. B, C. In situ hybridization of cDNA for AFP to mRNAAFP in yolk sac endoderm and C. fetal hepatocytes. The black color in b shows mRNA for AFP in yolk sac endoderm; in c in fetal hepatocytes (courtesy of Zoran Ilic).