Effect of protein depletion on the liver ribosomes and serum protein level
Sova, O.; Luxová, M.
Physiologia Bohemoslovaca 22(3): 267-271
1973
ISSN/ISBN: 0369-9463 PMID: 4272888 Document Number: 60488
Healthy Wistar rats, 50 females aged 3 months, were fed on a normal control diet or one deficient in protein and N and were killed in groups of 6 every week for 8 weeks. Total N values in serum fell steadily during protein depletion from 1021 to 603 mg/100 ml at 8 weeks; serum protein N fell from 982 to 554 mg/100 ml at 8 weeks but non-protein N did not change significantly. Serum protein concentration fell from 6.14 to 3.46 g/100 ml and this drop was mainly due to a decrease in albumin concentration, which fell almost identically with protein for 6 weeks. Some postalbumin fractions rose slightly at 2 weeks and alpha 1-, alpha 2- and beta -globulin fractions fell slightly but gamma -globulins did not change for 5 weeks and then fell sharply. The relative weight of liver ribosomes tended to increase, particularly in the 5th week when 1 g liver tissue contained twice as many ribosomes as in controls, and at 8 weeks there were 30% more ribosomes in liver of deprived rats than in those of controls. Spectrophotometric control of the purity of the ribosomal fractions indicated that the composition of the ribosomes was altered during depletion and involved protein and RNA contents.