We examined the possibility that in preeclampsia complicated by fetal growth retardation,
placental energy state is low either because of impaired glycolysis or because of ischemia
resulting from reduced maternal placental blood flow. Concentrations of pyruvate and
lactate, but not of glycogen and glucose, were significantly low in placentas of mothers with
severe preeclampsia, supporting previous indirect evidence of inhibited glycolysis.
Nevertheless, direct measurements of adenine nucleotide concentrations did not indicate …