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Stabilization of a HemA-LacZ hybrid protein against proteolysis during carbon starvation in atp mutants of Salmonella typhimurium.

Transposon insertions that stabilize the beta-galactosidase activity of a HemA-LacZ hybrid protein following carbon starvation were mapped to the atp operon of Salmonella typhimurium. This effect is similar to that seen with nuo mutants defective in the energy-conserving type I NADH dehydrogenase. Insertions in several other genes, including such highly pleiotropic mutants as rpoS, polA, and hfq, were isolated with the same phenotypic screen, but they do not affect the beta-galactosidase activity of HemA-LacZ. All of these mutants act indirectly to alter the colony color of many different fusion strains on indicator plates.

Aldehyde Oxidoreductases↗

Prolonged starvation--a dangerous procedure?

Experience with 18 obese patients who have undergone prolonged (60 days) therapeutic starvation shows that in general this is a safe procedure, but there are significant associated hazards, particularly a breakdown in electrolyte homoeostasis. The need for close biochemical control of such patients is stressed.

Abdomen↗

The effect of starvation on obese mice.

Plasma level of total and acylcarnitine and the activities of carnitine acetyltransferase (CAT) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase (PCT) in liver and CAT in brown fat were determined in young obese (ob/ob) mice and their littermates during starvation. Plasma levels of acylcarnitine and beta-hydroxybutyrate rose equally in both groups. Total carnitine levels, however, decreased in lean and rose in obese animals. Hepatic PCT and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activities rose more in lean than obese mice and brown fat CAT activity decreased in the obese group. Fatty acid synthetase activity decreased equally in the liver in obese mice and their lean littermates.

Animals↗

Physiological and behavioral responses to starvation in the golden hamster.

Physiological and behavioral responses of adult hamsters to starvation were studied by measuring food intake, weight recovery, serum concentrations of glucose, insulin, free fatty acids and beta-hydroxybutyrate, and ketonuria in animals subjected to different weight losses, diets, and durations of fast. Hamsters were debilitated by fasts longer than 12 h or leading to greater than 20% weight loss. Hamsters' feeding patterns were unmodified by fasts ranging between 5 and 12 h and showed no circadian periodicity. Hamsters predominantly recovered from weight losses without increasing their food consumption (unless they were offered a diet of pellets and seeds) and without changing their meal patterns, at a rate of weight gain proportional to the magnitude of preceding weight loss if provided with uninterrupted access to food. By 8 h of fast, blood metabolites were indicative of mobilization of body fat. Hamsters are thus behaviorally unresponsive to duration of fast, but compensate physiologically for weight losses with proportional increases in the rate of weight gain.

Animals↗

Maternal starvation and progesterone secretion, litter size, and growth in the pig.

The relationships of maternal nutrition and progesterone secretion to prenatal fetal loss and neonatal survival and growth were investigated in domesticated pigs that normally experience 40% fetal loss. Yorkshire pigs were subjected to prolonged starvation (40 days; 0 kcal/day; water only) in either the middle third or last third of pregnancy and then gradually realimented to a full diet and allowed to advance to parturition; controls received a full diet (7,028 kcal/day) throughout gestation. Pregnancies were maintained in 74% of the pigs starved during either middle or late gestation compared to 100% in controls. In dams starved from days 30--70, progesterone levels remained similar to controls, but were maintained at lower levels during realimentation between days 72 and 99. Progesterone levels in dams starved days 50--90 and controls were similar from days 50 to 130. At parturition, litter size in starved dams (9.4) was similar to full-diet controls (8.0) although birth weight and neonatal growth of piglets were reduced markedly from dams starved in middle or late pregnancy. These results indicate that severe maternal nutrient deprivation during the middle or last third of gestation has little effect on ovarian progesterone secretion and is not a major limitation to fetal survival in this litter-bearing species. Maternal nutrient deprivation imposes a significant detrimental effect, however, on birth weight and neonatal growth to 80 days of age.

Animals↗

Mechanisms of starvation diabetes: a study with double tracer and indirect calorimetry.

To analyze the mechanisms of fasting-induced glucose intolerance, glucose metabolism was studied before and after the ingestion of 75 g glucose in 24 normal subjects fasted for either 14 h (n = 12) or 4 days (n = 12). The techniques included intravenous infusion of [6-3H]glucose and oral administration of [1-14C]glucose combined with indirect calorimetry. Compared with the controls, the starved subjects exhibited the following differences in glucose metabolism during the 5 h after glucose ingestion. 1) Mean incremental levels were fourfold higher for glucose and 40% higher for insulin. 2) Absorption of oral glucose was delayed and prolonged, but total amount reaching systemic circulation in 5 h was identical in the two groups (approximately 63 g). 3) Suppression of hepatic glucose output was reduced (-12 +/- 1 vs. -22 +/- 2 g). 4) Consequently, the increment in peripheral appearance of total glucose (exogenous plus endogenous) was augmented (+ 52 +/- 2 vs. +41 +/- 2 g). 5) Mean glucose clearance increased significantly less (+28 +/- 7 vs. +96 +/- 10 ml/min). 6) Oxidation of oral glucose was reduced (9 +/- 2 vs. 36 +/- 3 g), and nonoxidative disposal (presumably storage) was enhanced (56 +/- 2 vs. 36 +/- 3 g) in the presence of an elevated fat oxidation (35 +/- 2 vs. 22 +/- 4 g). Thus the alterations in glucose homeostasis responsible for the starvation-induced glucose intolerance are located both at the splanchnic (hepatic) and peripheral levels.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗

Lower recovery of muscle protein lost during starvation in old rats despite a stimulation of protein synthesis.

Sarcopenia could result from the inability of an older individual to recover muscle lost during catabolic periods. To test this hypothesis, we compared the capacity of 5-day-refed 12- and 24-mo-old rats to recover muscle mass lost after 10 days without food. We measured gastrocnemius and liver protein synthesis with the flooding-dose method and also measured nitrogen balance, 3-methylhistidine excretion, and the gene expression of components of proteolytic pathways in muscle comparing fed, starved, and refed rats at each age. We show that 24-mo-old rats had an altered capacity to recover muscle proteins. Muscle protein synthesis, inhibited during starvation, returned to control values during refeeding in both age groups. The lower recovery in 24-mo-old rats was related to a lack of inhibition of muscle proteolysis during refeeding. The level of gene expression of components of the proteolytic pathways did not account for the variations in muscle proteolysis at both ages. In conclusion, this study highlights the role of muscle proteolysis in the lower recovery of muscle protein mass lost during catabolic periods.

Aging↗

Effect of short-term starvation on gastric emptying in humans: relationship to oral glucose tolerance.

To evaluate the effects of short-term starvation on gastric emptying in normal and obese subjects, the relationship between gastric emptying and oral glucose tolerance, and the mechanisms responsible for the delay in the systemic appearance of oral glucose observed after short-term fasting, we determined the effects of a 4-day fast on 1) gastric emptying and oral glucose tolerance in normal subjects and 2) gastric emptying in obese patients. Gastric emptying of 75 g glucose (320 ml) labeled with 99mTc colloid was measured in 12 healthy volunteers and 11 obese subjects after 12-h and 4-day fasts. In seven other obese subjects, the effect of a 4-day fast on gastric emptying of 320 ml normal saline was quantified. Gastric emptying of glucose was slower after the 4-day than after the overnight fast in both normal (P = 0.02) and obese (P < 0.001) subjects, with no difference between the two groups. In normal subjects, the rate of gastric emptying was related directly to the rise in plasma glucose at 30 min (r = 0.60; P < 0.05) but inversely to the plasma glucose at 180 min (r = -0.64; P < 0.02). In the obese subjects, gastric emptying of saline was not affected by fasting. These observations indicate that 1) gastric emptying of glucose is retarded by a 4-day fast, 2) the changes in gastric emptying reported in obesity may reflect different patterns of prior nutrient intake, and 3) delay in gastric emptying accounts for the slower systemic appearance of glucose after fasting.

Adult↗

Hypothalamic response to starvation: implications for the study of wasting disorders.

Weight loss is a potent stimulus to food intake in normal individuals. The persistence of anorexia in wasting disorders, therefore, implies a failure of this adaptive feeding response. We describe a model for the normal hypothalamic response to starvation composed of the stimulation of neuronal pathways that promote energy intake and storage coupled with the inhibition of pathways that exert opposing effects. This model provides a framework for investigating disturbances of the normal hypothalamic response to weight loss and suggests a specific mechanism by which cytokines contribute to wasting in acquired immune deficiency syndrome and other cachexic disorders.

Animals↗

Distribution along the rat nephron of three enzymes of gluconeogenesis in acidosis and starvation.

Methods were devised or modified which made it possible to measure phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, and glucose-6-phosphatase in seven defined parts of single nephrons and in patches from thin limb and papilla areas dissected from freeze-dried microtome sections of rat kidney. All three enzymes were essentially confined to the proximal tubule. In normal kidneys, the levels were highest in the proximal convoluted tubule. Glucose-6-phosphatase was 20 times higher in the early part of the convoluted segment than in the late part of the straight segment. With one exception, in acidosis, only phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase increased (fourfold in the proximal convoluted segment but much less in the straight portion). In starvation, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase increased about as much as in acidosis in the proximal straight tubule, but not as much in convoluted portions, whereas glucose-6-phosphatase rose modestly in both parts of the proximal tubule and fructose bisphosphatase rose only in the straight tubule, especially the early segment. It is suggested that ammoniagenesis can accompany gluconeogenesis in the proximal convoluted tubule but not in the straight segment.

Acidosis↗

Influence of starvation on enzyme-induced emphysema.

Adult rats were exposed to an aerosol of 10% papain for 8 h twice in a 2-wk interval. The control rats were exposed to isotonic saline in the same manner. Three weeks after the final exposure rats were divided into four groups: emphysema-fed, emphysema-starved, control-fed, and control-starved. Starved animals received one-third of their measured daily food consumption and water ad libitum for 6 wk. Final body weight, dry and wet weights of lungs and postfixation lung volume (VL) were significantly lower in starved rats. Dry-to-wet weight ratios were not significantly different among the groups, but VL/body weight was significantly higher in starved animals. Elastic recoil pressure of lung tissue determined in saline-filled lungs decreased and chord compliance over mid- and high-volume ranges increased significantly in starved animals both in control and emphysema groups. Mean linear intercept of air spaces was greater and internal surface area was smaller in starved rats in each group. Therefore, it appears that starvation aggravates the preexisting emphysematous processes in rat lungs.

Animals↗

Immaturity or starvation? Longitudinal study of leptin levels in premature infants.

OBJECTIVE: Leptin, the protein product of the ob gene, is a potential placental growth factor and is integral to the body's system of energy regulation as shown in animal models. Premature infants are especially vulnerable to changes in energy regulation, and several studies have demonstrated a rapid fall in leptin values at birth. The purpose of the present investigation was to measure leptin levels in premature infants throughout hospitalization. METHODS: Eligible infants were less than 32 weeks' gestation, appropriate for gestational age, and hospitalized at Christiana Hospital Special Care Nursery. Serum samples for leptin analysis were drawn within 24 h of birth and twice a week thereafter until discharge. Concurrent growth measurements were obtained with each leptin sample. Body mass index, ponderal index, and midarm circumference/head circumference ratios were calculated to assess growth. RESULTS: Leptin levels were low and remained low for the duration of the premature infants' hospitalization (mean +/- SD = 1.35 +/- 0.63 ng/ml/ml, range 0-3.06). After controlling for weight, there was a small (r(2) = 0.1, p < 0.00001) but significant correlation between leptin and postnatal age after 4 days of age. Despite an increase in caloric intake during the study period, there was no relationship between leptin and caloric intake. There were significant negative correlations between measurements of growth and both leptin and the leptin/weight ratio. Maternal diabetes and the use of steroids had small but significant effects on the leptin/weight ratio. CONCLUSION: In this population of predominantly female premature infants, leptin levels were very low as compared to term infants, children and adults, and did not change appreciably over the study period. The low leptin levels seen in these premature infants are similar to those levels seen in malnourished adults, anorexics, and in animal models of starvation. We speculate that a critical adipose store needs to be reached before increased amounts of leptin can be adequately produced. Persistently low leptin levels may also reflect an immaturity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Aging↗

Effects of starvation on the ultrastructure of the mouse parathyroid gland.

Ultrastructural changes of the parathyroid glands of starved mice were examined. The parathyroid glands of the starved mice showed a decrease in the volume of Golgi complexes and storage granules and an increase in the volume of lipid droplets, and contained more heterogeneously dense bodies and multivesicular bodies compared with that of the control mice. In addition, the volume of mitochondria, cisternae of granular endoplasmic reticulum and secretory granules and the number of prosecretory granules appeared to be decreased compared to those of the control mice. Myelin-like structures were observed in the parathyroid glands of the starved mice. The results of our study provide support for the hypothesis that starvation exerts an inhibitory influence not only on the synthesis but also on release of parathyroid hormone.

Animals↗

Studies on the nephron segment with reduced sodium reabsorption during starvation natriuresis.

The segment of the nephron where carbohydrate deprivation depresses Na transport leading to natriuresis was sought by a new clearance technique designed to measure segmental reabsorption in each portion of the human renal tubule. Experiments were performed during maximal water diuresis before and 4 days after carbohydrate withdrawal. Proximal reabsorption had fallen from 70 +/- 4 to 60 +/- 5 ml X min-1, p less than 0.05, by the 4th day of sugar deprivation, accounting for the natriuresis and the associated weight loss of 1.8 kg. By the 4th day of fasting, when Na excretion had returned to control levels, GFR had fallen nonsignificantly from 99 +/- 6 to 95 +/- 5 ml X min-1, while Na reabsorption along distal segments had risen. In fact, Na transport, expressed by the equivalent volumes of solute free-water generated, rose from 17.4 +/- 3.4 to 23.6 +/- 2.1 along the ascending limb of Henle's loop, and from 8.1 +/- 0.8 to 9.2 +/- 1.3 ml X min-1 X GFR-1 X 100 along the distal tubule. Thus, analysis of segmental Na transport by this method discloses that starvation natriuresis is a proximal tubular event, progressively counterbalanced by enhanced Na reclamation in more distal sites. Volume contraction and the attendant fall in GFR concur to curb delivery out of the proximal tubule which is matched by enhanced distal Na reabsorption till a new steady-state excretion is attained.

Absorption↗

Nutritional value of succinic acid monoethyl ester in starvation.

Rats were fasted for 48 h, but infused with either NaCl or the sodium salt of monoethyl succinic acid (EMS), both delivered at a rate of 80 mumol/g body weight per day. The infusion of EMS, as compared to NaCl, failed to affect paraovarian adipose tissue or liver weight, liver or muscle glycogen, and insulinemia. It accentuated the starvation-induced fall in body weight, and decreased both liver and muscle protein content. Nevertheless, the succinate ester increased plasma D-glucose concentration, delayed the rise in ketonemia, maintained a higher glucokinase/hexokinase activity ratio in liver and pancreatic islets, and allowed for a more efficient stimulation of insulin release by D-glucose or 2-ketoisocaproate in isolated pancreatic islets. These findings indicate that monoethyl succinate displays a significant nutritional value when infused in starved rats.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗

Starvation-induced organ hypoplasia in prenatal and postnatal guinea pigs.

The severity and permanence of growth retardation was measured in guinea pigs starved for 3 weeks with a 50% ration in late gestation (prenatal), at birth (neonatal), or at weaning. Acute and chronic effects were assessed as body mass, skeletal length, hematology, and the weight, DNA and protein contents of the hearts, the lungs, and the livers of the starved and refed animals. Organ hypoplasia was most pronounced in the prenatally starved group, and was associated with numerous stillbirths. Among survivors, catch-up growth was eventually complete. Prenatal starvation of this species provides a reproducible model of human intrauterine growth retardation, particularly of the pulmonary system.

Animals↗

Protein synthesis and degradation during starvation-induced cardiac atrophy in rabbits.

To determine the relative importance of protein degradation in the development of starvation-induced cardiac atrophy, in vivo fractional synthetic rates of total cardiac protein, myosin heavy chain, actin, light chain 1, and light chain 2 were measured in fed and fasted rabbits by continuous infusion of [3H] leucine. In addition, the rate of left ventricular protein accumulation and loss were assessed in weight-matched control and fasted rabbits. Rates of total cardiac protein degradation were then estimated as the difference between rates of synthesis and growth. Fasting produced left ventricular atrophy by decreasing the rate of left ventricular protein synthesis (34.8 +/- 1.4, 27.3 +/- 3.0, and 19.3 +/- 1.2 mg/day of left ventricular protein synthesized for 0-, 3-, and 7-day fasted rabbits, respectively). Inhibition of contractile protein synthesis was evident by significant reductions in the fractional synthetic rates of all myofibrillar protein subunits. Although fractional rates of protein degradation increased significantly within 7 days of fasting, actual amounts of left ventricular protein degraded per day were unaffected. Thus, prolonged fasting profoundly inhibits the synthesis of new cardiac protein, including the major protein constituents of the myofibril. Both this inhibition in new protein synthesis as well as a smaller but significant reduction in the average half-lives of cardiac proteins are responsible for atrophy of the heart in response to fasting.

Animals↗