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Effect of Elevated Dietary Tryptophan on Protein Synthesis in Rat Liver^1,2,

Department of Pathology, The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20037

This study investigated whether rats force-fed for three days an elevated (1%) tryptophan diet compared to a control (0.2% tryptophan) diet had changes in hepatic protein metabolism. Earlier, we showed that a single administration of L-tryptophan to fasted rats caused a rapid increase in hepatic protein synthesis. In the present study rats force-fed a high tryptophan diet for 3 days and killed the fourth morning had increased rates of hepatic protein synthesis, cytochrome P-450 and b₅ activities, in vitro nuclear RNA release (cell sap and nuclear effects) and nuclear envelope nucleoside triphosphatase activity compared to animals force-fed the control diet. We noted little or no change in hepatic total polyribosomal aggregation patterns or plasma and hepatic free amino acid levels.

KEY WORDS: • tryptophan • protein synthesis • cytochrome P-450 and b₅ • RNA translocation

¹ Supported by U.S. Public Health Service research grants AM 27339 from the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases and CA 26557 from the National Cancer Institute.

² A preliminary report was presented at the Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in Anaheim, Calif., April, 1980, Fed. Proc. 39, p. 349, 1980.

Manuscript received 9 March 1981.