Developmental changes in organic osmolytes in prenatal and postnatal rat tissues

At high osmotic pressures, mammalian kidney medulla, heart, lens, and brain utilize organic osmolytes to regulate cell volume. However the types and proportions of these solutes vary among tissues in patterns and for non-osmotic roles not fully elucidated. To clarify these, we analyzed osmolyte-type solute contents in rat tissues at 7 and 2 days prenatal and at 0, 7, 14, 21 (weaning), 35 (juvenile) and 77 (adult) days postnatal. Placentas were dominated by betaine, taurine, and creatine, which decreased between the prenatal times. Fetuses were dominated by glutamate and taurine, which increased between the times. In cerebrum, hindbrain and diencephalon, taurine dominated at early stages, but dropped after postnatal day 7, while myo-inositol, glutamine, creatine and glutamate increased after birth, with the latter two dominating in adults. In olfactory bulb, taurine content declined gradually with age and was equal to glutamate in adults. In all brain regions, glycerophosphorylcholine (GPC) reached a peak in juveniles. In postnatal renal medulla, urea, sodium, GPC, betaine, and taurine increased sharply at day 21. Thereafter, most increased, but taurine decreased. In heart, taurine dominated, and increased with age along with creatine and glutamine, while glutamate decreased after postnatal day 7. In lens, taurine dominated and declined in adults. These patterns are discussed in light of hypotheses on non-osmotic and pathological roles of these solutes.