¹⁵N-Studies in Severe Renal Failure I. Influence of Amino Acid Administration on the Nitrogen Metabolism

Abstract

¹⁵N-urea was administered to two uraemic patients and to one normal subject treated with intravenous infusions of the 8 essential amino acids supplemented with histidine and arginine. The ¹⁵N in plasma and muscle protein and in non-protein nitrogen was compared to the nitrogen balance and plasma urea concentration. Before the infusions the nitrogen balance was negative and incorporation of ¹⁵N in the proteins decreasing, whereas incorporation in tissue NPN was almost stable. When amino acids were infused, the protein incorporation first increased and then remained almost constant in one patient and decreased slowly in the other, concomitantly with a decreased ¹⁵N-content in the tissue NPN. The healthy subject quickly lost most of the ¹⁵N in the urine and the ¹⁵N-incorporation in protein and NPN was low. The results demonstrate that urea nitrogen can be utilized for synthesis of muscle protein in uraemic patients. Administration of essential amino acids seemed to stimulate utilization of nitrogen-containing metabolites for protein synthesis.

Key Words:

• Amino acid metabolism
• amino acid therapy
• essential amino acids
• heavy nitrogen
• protein synthesis
• uraemia
• urea metabolism