EFFECT OF UNDERNUTRITION ON CEREBRAL PROTEIN-METABOLISM

Amino acid incorporation and protein breakdown were decreased in the brain of undernourished rats in early developmental stages (6 days old); at later ages the differences were less significant. Changes in the cerebral free amino acid pool were slight. The greater decrease in the rate of protein synthesis than in that of protein breakdown resulted in a decrease in protein deposition (growth) in the young brain. Changes were similar in the cerebellum and the cerebral hemispheres. The pattern of changes (decrease in both protein synthesis and breakdown) that occurs in brain during undernutrition especially during development differs from the pattern of changes in other organs such as liver and muscle, where protein synthesis and breakdown may change in opposite directions. © 1979.