[Ultrastructural localization of acid phosphatase and thiamine pyrophosphatase activities and of phosphotungstic staining at low pH in the placental labyrinth of the cat].

The localizations of acid phosphatase (ACPase) and thiamine pyrophosphatase (TPPase) activities were studied in the placental labyrinth of the cat during the last days of gestation. ACPase activities were observed essentially in the syncytiotrophoblast and in the "interstitial inert substance" (S.I.I.) that separates maternal from foetal tissues. Reaction product was localized in lysosomes, multivesicular bodies, and in the network of smooth-membraned tubules which open on the cell surface of the syncytiotrophoblast facing the S.I.I. The S.I.I. exhibit a strong activity, probably of syncytiotrophoblastic origin. TPPase activities were found in the syncytiotrophoblast, rarely in the Golgi apparatus but always in the lumen of the network of smooth-membrande tubules. The S.I.I. shows a moderate activity. These TPPase positive tubules being frequently observed very close to the Golgi cisternae, it is proposed that they arise from the Golgi complex and convey phosphatases to the S.I.I. After phosphotungstic acid staining at low pH, luminal surface coat of maternal endothelium is always strongly and continuously visualized, while the plasma membrane of the syncytiotrophoblast facing the S.I.I. is never stained. Staining is intense in the lumen of tubules, and continuous with the stain of the S.I.I. ACPase activity of the S.I.I. could be implicated in enzymatic degradation of maternal molecules during their transfer from maternal to foetal blood. The S.I.I. may correspond to the immunological buffer zone at the interface between maternal and foetal tissues.