Amino Acid and Protein Metabolism in Hospitalized Patients as Measured by l-[U-14C]Tyrosine and l-[1-14C]Leucine

1983 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 499-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sukumar P. Desai ◽  
Lyle L. Moldawer ◽  
Bruce R. Bistrian ◽  
George L. Blackburn

1. Plasma amino acid kinetics were determined in hospitalized patients receiving one of three intravenous solutions: isotonic amino acids, isotonic sodium chloride, or total parenteral nutrition. 2. Whole body amino acid appearance, oxidation and incorporation into protein were estimated with two different isotopically labelled amino acids: l-[1-14C]leucine and l-[U-14C]tyrosine. 3. A positive correlation was obtained between whole body amino acid appearance, oxidation and incorporation into protein with the two isotopically labelled amino acids. 4. Derivation of whole body protein kinetics with l-[U-14C]tyrosine consistently gave higher values than those obtained from l-[1-14C]leucine, presumably due in part to the contribution of phenylalanine hydroxylation to plasma tyrosine appearance. However, the percentages of amino acid appearance oxidized and used for protein synthesis were similar. 5. It can be concluded that estimates of whole body protein kinetics are qualitatively similar when measured with l-[U-14C]tyrosine and l-[1-14C]leucine in hospitalized patients receiving either isotonic sodium chloride solutions or balanced amino acid intakes.

2019 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Tessari

ABSTRACT Background Essential amino acids (EAAs) are key factors in determining dietary protein quality. Their RDAs have been estimated. However, although nonessential amino acids (NEAAs) are utilized for protein synthesis too, no estimates of their usage for body protein replenishment have been proposed so far. Objective The aim of this study was to provide minimum, approximate estimates of NEAA usage for body protein replenishment/conservation in humans. Methods A correlation between the pattern of both EAAs and NEAAs in body proteins, and their usage, was assumed. In order to reconstruct an “average” amino acid pattern/composition of total body proteins (as grams of amino acid per gram of protein), published data of relevant human organs/tissues (skeletal muscle, liver, kidney, gut, and collagen, making up ∼74% of total proteins) were retrieved. The (unknown) amino acid composition of residual proteins (∼26% of total proteins) was assumed to be the same as for the sum of the aforementioned organs excluding collagen. Using international EAA RDA values, an average ratio of EAA RDA to the calculated whole-body EAA composition was derived. This ratio was then used to back-calculate NEAA usage for protein replenishment. The data were calculated also using estimated organ/tissue amino acid turnover. Results The individual ratios of World Health Organization/Food and Agriculture Organization/United Nations University RDA to EAA content ranged between 1.35 (phenylalanine + tyrosine) and 3.68 (leucine), with a mean ± SD value of 2.72 ± 0.81. In a reference 70-kg subject, calculated NEAA usage for body protein replenishment ranged from 0.73 g/d for asparagine to 3.61 g/d for proline. Use of amino acid turnover data yielded similar results. Total NEAA usage for body protein replenishment was ∼19 g/d (45% of total NEAA intake), whereas ∼24 g/d was used for other routes. Conclusion This method may provide indirect minimum estimates of the usage of NEAAs for body protein replacement in humans.


1975 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 401-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. A. Silk ◽  
P. D. Fairclough ◽  
Nicola J. Park ◽  
Annette E. Lane ◽  
Joan P. W. Webb ◽  
...  

1. A double-lumen perfusion technique was used to study the effect of a wide range of concentrations of the dipeptide glycyl-l-alanine and its constituent amino acids on water and electrolyte absorption from iso-osmotic solutions in the upper jejunum of normal human subjects. 2. There was no significant absorption of water and electrolytes from sodium chloride solution (150 mmol/l) but the presence of the dipeptide or its constituent amino acids stimulated water and electrolyte absorption. 3. Water absorption reached a peak at increasing amino acid and dipeptide concentrations and then tailed off. Our data suggest that the tailing off is not solely due to the diminished sodium content of the solutions. 4. During perfusion of the dipeptide-sodium chloride and amino acid-sodium chloride solutions solute and water were absorbed as an iso-osmotic solution. Analysis of the results indicates that this could occur at high dipeptide concentrations only if the majority of the dipeptide enters the cell intact.


Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Il-Young Kim ◽  
Sanghee Park ◽  
Ellen T. H. C. Smeets ◽  
Scott Schutzler ◽  
Gohar Azhar ◽  
...  

Heart failure in older individuals is normally associated with a high body mass index and relatively low lean body mass due to, in part, a resistance to the normal anabolic effect of dietary protein. In this study we have investigated the hypothesis that consumption of a specially-formulated composition of essential amino acids (HiEAAs) can overcome anabolic resistance in individuals with heart failure and stimulate the net gain of body protein to a greater extent than a commercially popular protein-based meal replacement beverage with greater caloric but lower essential amino acid (EAA) content (LoEAA). A randomized cross-over design was used. Protein kinetics were determined using primed continuous infusions of L-(2H5)phenylalanine and L-(2H2)tyrosine in the basal state and for four hours following consumption of either beverage. Both beverages induced positive net protein balance (i.e., anabolic response). However, the anabolic response was more than two times greater with the HiEAA than the LoEAA (p < 0.001), largely through a greater suppression of protein breakdown (p < 0.001). Net protein accretion (g) was also greater in the HiEAA when data were normalized for either amino acid or caloric content (p < 0.001). We conclude that a properly formulated EAA mixture can elicit a greater anabolic response in individuals with heart failure than a protein-based meal replacement. Since heart failure is often associated with obesity, the minimal caloric value of the HiEAA formulation is advantageous.


1992 ◽  
Vol 263 (4) ◽  
pp. E794-E799 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. De Feo ◽  
F. F. Horber ◽  
M. W. Haymond

The present studies were performed to test the hypothesis that the liver, by increasing the synthesis of specific plasma proteins during the absorption of an amino acid meal, may play an important role in the temporary "storage" of ingested essential amino acids and to explore the effects of glucocorticosteroids and recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) on these processes. The fractional synthetic rates of albumin and fibrinogen were determined using simultaneous infusions of intravenous [1-14C]leucine and intraduodenal [4,5-3H]leucine after 22 h fasting and during absorption of glucose and amino acids in four groups of normal subjects treated for 1 wk with placebo, prednisone (0.8 mg.kg-1.day-1), rhGH (0.1 mg.kg-1.day-1), or combined treatment. When compared with the fasted state and independent of the route of tracer delivery and hormonal treatment, albumin, but not fibrinogen, synthesis increased (P < 0.0001) during absorption of a mixed glucose amino acid meal in all groups. This increase in albumin synthesis accounted for 28% of the increase in whole body protein synthesis associated with feeding and for 24, 22, and 14% in the prednisone, rhGH, and combined treatment groups, respectively. These data suggest that the stimulation of albumin synthesis observed during feeding prevents irreversible oxidative losses of a significant fraction of ingested essential amino acids and may serve as a vehicle to capture excess dietary amino acids and transport them to peripheral tissues to sustain local protein synthesis.


1996 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. Lobley ◽  
A. Connell ◽  
D. K. Revell ◽  
B. J. Bequette ◽  
D. S. Brown ◽  
...  

AbstractThe response in whole-body and splanchnic tissue mass and isotope amino acid transfers in both plasma and blood has been studied in sheep offered 800 g lucerne (Medicago sutiva) pellets/d. Amino acid mass transfers were quantified over a 4 h period,by arterio-venous procedures, across the portal-drained viscera (PDV) and liver on day 5 of an intravenous infusion of either vehicle or the methylated products, choline (0.5 g/d) plus creatine (10 g/d). Isotopic movements were monitored over the same period during a 10 h infusion of a mixture of U-13C-labelled amino acids obtained from hydrolysis of labelled algal cells. Sixteen amino acids were monitored by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, with thirteen of these analysed within a single chromatographic analysis. Except for methionine, which is discussed in a previous paper, no significant effects of choline plus creatine infusion were observed on any of the variables reported. Whole-body protein irreversible-loss rates ranged from 158 to 245 g/d for the essential amino acids, based on the relative enrichments (dilution of the U-13C molecules by those unlabelled) of free amino acids in arterial plasma, and 206-519 g/d, when blood free amino acid relative enrichments were used for the calculations. Closer agreement was obtained between lysine, threonine, phenylalanine and the branched-chain amino acids. Plasma relative enrichments always exceeded those in blood (P < 0.001), possibly due to hydrolysis of peptides or degradation of protein within the erythrocyte or slow equilibration between plasma and the erythrocyte. Net absorbed amino acids across the PDV were carried predominantly in the plasma. Little evidence was obtained of any major and general involvement of the erythrocytes in the transport of free amino acids from the liver. Net isotope movements also supported these findings. Estimates of protein synthesis rates across the PDV tissues from [U-13C] leucine kinetics showed good agreement with previous values obtained with single-labelled leucine. Variable rates were obtained between the essential amino acids, probably due to different intracellular dilutions. Isotope dilution across the liver was small and could be attributed predominantly to uni-directional transfer from extracellular sources into the hepatocytes and this probably dominates the turnover of the intracellular hepatic amino acid pools.


1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (5) ◽  
pp. E639-E646 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Obled ◽  
F. Barre ◽  
D. J. Millward ◽  
M. Arnal

These studies were undertaken to determine to what extent constant infusion measurements and plasma sampling could provide sensible answers for rates of whole body protein turnover and also which amino acid would be the most representative probe of whole body protein turnover. Whole body protein synthesis rates were estimated in 70-g rats with L-[U-14C]threonine, L-[U-14C]lysine, L-[U-14C]tyrosine, L-[U-14C]phenylalanine, and L-[1-14C]leucine by either simultaneous tracer infusion of four amino acids or by injections of large quantities of 14C-labeled amino acids. In the infusion experiment, indirect estimates of whole body protein turnover based on free amino acid specific radioactivity and stochastic modeling were compared with direct measurement of the incorporation of the tracer into proteins. These two methods of analysis provided similar results for each amino acid, although in each case fractional synthesis rates were lower (by between 26 and 63%) when calculations were based on plasma rather than tissue specific radioactivity. With the flooding-dose method, whole body fractional protein synthesis rates were 41.4, 25.6, 31.1, and 31.4% with threonine, lysine, phenylalanine, and leucine, respectively. These values were similar to those obtained by the continuous infusion method using tissue specific radioactivity for threonine and lysine. For leucine, however, the flooding-dose method provided an intermediate value between the two estimates derived either from the plasma or the tissue specific radioactivity in the infusion method.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2000 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
pp. 408-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Bozzetti ◽  
Cecilia Gavazzi ◽  
Paola Ferrari ◽  
Federica Dworzak

Aims and background The question of whether TPN is able to reverse lean body mass depletion in cachectic cancer patients and, in particular, its effect on protein kinetics is a matter of some controversy. This study investigates the impact of TPN on protein kinetics in patients with gastric cancer. Methods The study involved three patients with 14–30% weight loss. They were administered a TPN regimen including 33–40 kcal/kg/day and 1.4–1.7 g amino acid/kg/day. The protein metabolism was studied before and during TPN using a stable amino acid isotope. Results Whole body protein turnover and breakdown did not change during TPN, whereas whole body protein synthesis increased from 3.39 ± 1.04 to 6.05 ± 0.48 g/kg/day (P = 0.03). However, the net balance, which was slightly negative prior to TPN, became positive during nutritional support. In the skeletal muscle compartment the synthesis improved with TPN (from 9.38 ± 2.6 nmol/100 mL/min to 35.95 ± 3.4 nmol/100 mL/min; P = 0.0143), whereas breakdown did not change significantly. Conclusions TPN triggers a positive metabolic response in cachectic cancer patients. Whether this results in a clinical benefit for the patient requires further investigation.


1997 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hardy M Edwards III ◽  
David H Baker ◽  
Sergio R Fernandez ◽  
Carl M Parsons

Broiler chicks were fed on chemically-defined crystalline amino acid diets containing graded levels of L-threonine (Thr) during the period 10–20 d post-hatching. Doses of Thr represented 5,10,15,40,55,70 and 95% of its ideal level for maximal weight gain and feed efficiency. Other amino acids were maintained at minimized excess levels that were 15% (of ideal) above the various doses of Thr. Following 10d of feeding and a 24h fast, chicks were killed for whole-body protein and amino acid analysis. Using pen accretion means, weight gain (r20·98), protein accretion (r2 0·99), and Thr accretion (r2 0·99) were linear (P<0·01) functions of Thr intake. Slope of the Thr accretion regression line indicated that 82% of the Thr intake was recovered in whole-body protein. At zero Thr intake, chicks lost 11·9 mg Thr/d. The Thr maintenance requirement was 45·7 mg/d per kg body weight 0·75. Increasing doses of Thr resulted in increased (P<0·05) concentrations of methionine, isoleucine, histidine and lysine in whole-body protein. Other indispensable amino acids, including Thr, also tended to increase. Whole-body glycine, proline, serine and cystine concentrations decreased (P<0·05) as Thr was increased in the diet. The maintenance need for Thr represented 5·5% of the total need for Thr. The data suggest that efficiency of Thr utilization is constant at all levels of Thr intake between 5 and 95% of the level required for maximal weight gain and feed efficiency.


2000 ◽  
Vol 279 (5) ◽  
pp. E978-E988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. Whittaker ◽  
Choy H. Lee ◽  
Roy Taylor

The effects of pregnancy and type 1 diabetes [insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM)] on protein metabolism are still uncertain. Therefore, six normal and five IDDM women were studied during and after pregnancy, using [13C]leucine and [2H5]phenylalanine with a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp and amino acid infusion. Fasting total plasma amino acids were lower in pregnancy in normal but not IDDM women (2,631 ± 427 vs. 2,057 ± 471 and 2,523 ± 430 vs. 2,500 ± 440 μmol/l, respectively). Whole body protein breakdown (leucine) increased in pregnancy [change in normal (ΔN) and IDDM women (ΔD) 0.59 ± 0.40 and 0.48 ± 0.26 g · kg−1 · day−1, both P < 0.001], whereas reductions in protein breakdown due to insulin/amino acids (ΔN −0.57 ± 0.19, ΔD −0.58 ± 0.20 g · kg−1 · day−1, both P < 0.001) were unaffected by pregnancy. Protein breakdown in IDDM women was not higher than normal, and neither pregnancy nor type 1 diabetes altered the insulin sensitivity of amino acid turnover. Nonoxidized leucine disposal (protein synthesis) increased in pregnancy (ΔN 0.67 ± 0.45, ΔD 0.64 ± 0.34 g · kg−1 · day−1, both P < 0.001). Pregnancy reduced the response of phenylalanine hydroxylation to insulin/amino acids in both groups (ΔN −1.14 ± 0.74, ΔD −1.12 ± 0.77 g · kg−1 · day−1, both P < 0.05). These alterations may enable amino acid conservation for protein synthesis and accretion in late pregnancy. Well-controlled type 1 diabetes caused no abnormalities in the regulation of basal or stimulated protein metabolism.


2019 ◽  
Vol 317 (1) ◽  
pp. E74-E84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert R. Wolfe ◽  
Sanghee Park ◽  
Il-Young Kim ◽  
Carlene Starck ◽  
Bryce J. Marquis ◽  
...  

Intrinsically labeled dietary proteins have been used to trace various aspects of digestion and absorption, including quantifying the contribution of dietary protein to observed postprandial amino acid and protein kinetics in human subjects. Quantification of the rate of appearance in peripheral blood of an unlabeled (tracee) amino acid originating from an intrinsically labeled protein (exogenous Ra) requires the assumption that there is no dilution of the isotope enrichment of the protein-bound amino acid in the gastrointestinal tract or across the splanchnic bed. It must also be assumed that the effective volume of distribution into which the tracer and tracee appear can be reasonably estimated by a single value and that any recycling of the tracer is minimal and thus does not affect calculated rates. We have assessed these assumptions quantitatively using values from published studies. We conclude that the use of intrinsically labeled proteins as currently described to quantify exogenous Ra systematically underestimates the true value. When used with the tracer-determined rates of amino acid kinetics, underestimation of exogenous Ra from the intrinsically labeled protein method likely translates to incorrect conclusions regarding protein breakdown, including the effect of a protein meal and the anabolic impact of the speed of digestion and absorption of amino acids. Estimation of exogenous Ra from the bioavailability of ingested protein has some advantages as compared with the intrinsically labeled protein method. We therefore conclude that the bioavailability method for estimating exogenous Ra is preferable to the intrinsically labeled protein method.


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