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Chronic Protein Deficiency Differentially Affects the Kinetics of Plasma Proteins in Young Pigs^1,2,

USDA/Agricultural Research Service Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030

The use of plasma protein concentrations to assess protein-nutritional status has been questioned because concentrations and kinetics are affected by factors other than protein intake. To determine the effect of protein deficiency on plasma protein concentration and synthesis, two groups of four piglets consumed diets containing either 20 or 3% protein. After 8 wk, ²H₃-leucine was infused intravenously to measure the fractional and absolute synthesis rates (FSR and ASR) of albumin, transferrin, retinol binding protein (RBP), transthyretin (TTR), a new peptide called TTR2, the high density apolipoprotein (HDL-apoA-1), fibrinogen, and haptoglobin. Compared with controls, protein-deficient pigs had significantly lower (P < 0.05) plasma albumin, RBP and TTR2 concentrations, significantly slower (P < 0.05) FSR of fibrinogen, HDL-apoA-1, transferrin, and TTR2, significantly lower (P < 0.05) ASR of albumin, fibrinogen, transferrin, and TTR2, and a significantly higher (P < 0.05) ASR of TTR. Fibrinogen and transferrin concentrations did not differ between groups, but transthyretin concentration was higher in protein-deficient pigs. These results suggest that protein-nutritional status cannot be predicted from the concentrations of all plasma proteins, that chronic protein deficiency affects the rate of synthesis of only some plasma proteins, and that the kinetic response of plasma proteins to protein restriction cannot be predicted from measurements of plasma concentrations.

KEY WORDS: • plasma protein concentration • synthesis • protein deficiency • stable isotope • pigs

¹ Supported by federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service under Cooperative agreement number 58-6250-1-003, and by National Institutes of Health Grant DK41764. This is a publication of the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government.

² The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

³ To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed.

⁴ Current address: National Institute of Nutrition, Jamai-Osmania, Hyderabad, India.

⁵ Current address: School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University, Macdonald Campus, Montreal, Canada.

Manuscript received 17 October 1995. Revision accepted 16 January 1996.

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