INFLUENCE OF ADRENAL CORTICAL HORMONES UPON THE LEVEL OF PLASMA AMINO ACIDS IN EVISCERATE RATS

Abstract

INTRODUCTION After removal of the liver, ammo acids released from tissue proteins cannot be deaminated and therefore accumulate in the plasma. The rate of rise of the plasma amino acids may therefore be considered a rough indication of the net rate of protein breakdown. When adrenalectomized rats are eviscerated, the accumulation of plasma amino acids is depressed (Bondy, 1949; Ingle, Prestrud and Nezamis, 1948). In a previous communication it was claimed that the administration of large amounts of adrenal cortical extract to eviscerated rats with intact adrenals increased the rate of rise of plasma amino acids above control values within 4 hours (Bondy, 1949). Subsequent attempts to duplicate this experiment were unsuccessful. Further experiments were therefore carried out to determine whether adrenal cortical hormones can influence protein breakdown in the liverless animal, and to evaluate some of the factors concerned in the reaction. METHODS Two sets of experiments were carried out.