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Chemical Pathology of Acute Amino Acid Deficiencies: Reversibility of the Pathologic Changes in Rats Force-fed a Threonine-devoid Diet¹

Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213

This study was concerned with the reversibility of the pathologic (morphologic and chemical) changes that can be induced in young rats force-fed a threonine-devoid diet for 3 days. Young female Sprague-Dawley rats were force-fed the complete or threonine-devoid diet for 3 days and then both groups of animals were force-fed the complete diet for one or two feedings (killed 6 hours later) or three feedings (killed 14 hours later). Hepatic lipid, glycogen and protein content and in vivo protein synthesis (¹⁴C-leucine incorporation into proteins) in liver, plasma, skeletal muscle, spleen and kidney were studied. After 3 days of being force-fed the threonine-devoid diet, there was increased hepatic weight, lipid and glycogen; decreased gastrocnemius muscle weight, protein and glycogen; increased in vivo protein synthesis in liver and plasma, a shift toward heavier aggregation of hepatic polyribosomes, and increased in vitro hepatic protein synthesis; and decreased in vivo protein synthesis in gastrocnemius muscle and spleen. However, these biochemical changes induced by force-feeding the threonine-devoid diet for 3 days were reversed toward the control levels in animals force-fed the complete diet throughout by subsequent feeding of the complete diet. The reversibility began after one feeding and progressively continued after two and three feedings of the complete diet. Morphologic changes in the livers and spleens of rats force-fed the threonine-devoid diet for 3 days became reversed after 1 day (three feedings) of complete diet.

KEY WORDS: • threonine deficiency • pathology

¹ Supported by U. S. Public Health Service Research Grant AM-05908 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases.

Manuscript received 23 June 1971.