Skip to main content
PMC home page
Annals of Surgery logoLink to Annals of Surgery
. 1986 Nov;204(5):513–523. doi: 10.1097/00000658-198611000-00002

Branched chain amino acid uptake and muscle free amino acid concentrations predict postoperative muscle nitrogen balance.

D J Johnson, Z M Jiang, M Colpoys, C R Kapadia, R J Smith, D W Wilmore
PMCID: PMC1251333  PMID: 3767484

Abstract

Amino acid solutions rich in branched chain amino acids (BCAA) are commonly utilized both clinically and in experimental protocols in an attempt to reduce skeletal muscle and whole body protein catabolism. To investigate the effectiveness of BCAA infusion, amino acid formulas containing varying concentrations of BCAA were given during operation in this study to three groups of dogs undergoing a standard laparotomy and retroperitoneal dissection. A fourth group was given saline alone. With the use of previously described hindquarter flux techniques, individual and total amino acid nitrogen exchange rates were measured and utilized in estimating skeletal muscle protein catabolism. Intracellular free amino acid concentrations were measured in percutaneous muscle biopsy samples. Although there was no relationship with the rate of BCAA infusion, there was a significant correlation between the rate of BCAA uptake by muscle and diminished total nitrogen release from hindquarter skeletal muscle after operation. There was also a significant relationship between muscle nitrogen balance and the postoperative change in the muscle concentration of either total amino acids or the single amino acid glutamine. When combined in a single equation, BCAA uptake and the change in muscle free amino acid concentration predict skeletal muscle nitrogen release with an r = 0.86. Thus, the rate of BCAA uptake and the free glutamine or total amino acid concentration in muscle appear to be independent predictors of muscle nitrogen balance. The nitrogen-sparing effect of BCAA in skeletal muscle is unrelated to infusion concentration or rate of infusion.

Full text

PDF
517

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Abumrad N. N., Robinson R. P., Gooch B. R., Lacy W. W. The effect of leucine infusion on substrate flux across the human forearm. J Surg Res. 1982 May;32(5):453–463. doi: 10.1016/0022-4804(82)90126-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Aoki T. T., Brennan M. F., Fitzpatrick G. F., Knight D. C. Leucine meal increases glutamine and total nitrogen release from forearm muscle. J Clin Invest. 1981 Dec;68(6):1522–1528. doi: 10.1172/JCI110406. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Askanazi J., Carpentier Y. A., Michelsen C. B., Elwyn D. H., Furst P., Kantrowitz L. R., Gump F. E., Kinney J. M. Muscle and plasma amino acids following injury. Influence of intercurrent infection. Ann Surg. 1980 Jul;192(1):78–85. doi: 10.1097/00000658-198007000-00014. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Aulick L. H., Wilmore D. W. Increased peripheral amino acid release following burn injury. Surgery. 1979 May;85(5):560–565. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bergström J., Fürst P., Norée L. O., Vinnars E. Intracellular free amino acid concentration in human muscle tissue. J Appl Physiol. 1974 Jun;36(6):693–697. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1974.36.6.693. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cerra F. B., Mazuski J. E., Chute E., Nuwer N., Teasley K., Lysne J., Shronts E. P., Konstantinides F. N. Branched chain metabolic support. A prospective, randomized, double-blind trial in surgical stress. Ann Surg. 1984 Mar;199(3):286–291. doi: 10.1097/00000658-198403000-00007. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Cerra F. B., Upson D., Angelico R., Wiles C., 3rd, Lyons J., Faulkenbach L., Paysinger J. Branched chains support postoperative protein synthesis. Surgery. 1982 Aug;92(2):192–199. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Daly J. M., Mihranian M. H., Kehoe J. E., Brennan M. F. Effects of postoperative infusion of branched chain amino acids on nitrogen balance and forearm muscle substrate flux. Surgery. 1983 Aug;94(2):151–158. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Freund H. R., James J. H., Fischer J. E. Nitrogen-sparing mechanisms of singly administered branched-chain amino acids in the injured rat. Surgery. 1981 Aug;90(2):237–243. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Freund H., Yoshimura N., Fischer J. E. The effect of branched chain amino acids and hypertonic glucose infusions on postinjury catabolism in the rat. Surgery. 1980 Apr;87(4):401–408. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kapadia C. R., Colpoys M. F., Jiang Z. M., Johnson D. J., Smith R. J., Wilmore D. W. Maintenance of skeletal muscle intracellular glutamine during standard surgical trauma. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 1985 Sep-Oct;9(5):583–589. doi: 10.1177/0148607185009005583. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Maksoud J. G., Tannuri U. Effect of branched-chain amino acids and insulin on postinjury protein catabolism in growing animals. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 1984 Jul-Aug;8(4):416–420. doi: 10.1177/0148607184008004416. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Muhlbacher F., Kapadia C. R., Colpoys M. F., Smith R. J., Wilmore D. W. Effects of glucocorticoids on glutamine metabolism in skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol. 1984 Jul;247(1 Pt 1):E75–E83. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.1984.247.1.E75. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Odessey R., Goldberg A. L. Oxidation of leucine by rat skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol. 1972 Dec;223(6):1376–1383. doi: 10.1152/ajplegacy.1972.223.6.1376. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Souba W. W., Smith R. J., Wilmore D. W. Glutamine metabolism by the intestinal tract. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 1985 Sep-Oct;9(5):608–617. doi: 10.1177/0148607185009005608. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Tischler M. E., Desautels M., Goldberg A. L. Does leucine, leucyl-tRNA, or some metabolite of leucine regulate protein synthesis and degradation in skeletal and cardiac muscle? J Biol Chem. 1982 Feb 25;257(4):1613–1621. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of Surgery are provided here courtesy of Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins

RESOURCES