Protein and amino acid metabolism in malnutrition and metabolic stress

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The synergistic interaction of malnutrition with infections is a complex multifactorial problem with devastating impact worldwide. Inflammation and activation of the immune system, which are both normal responses to tissue injury and infection, result in 1) increased synthesis of glutathione (GSH) to balance the increased production of free radicals and 2) increased synthesis of acute phase proteins. Both responses result in increased demands for a potentially meagre supply of amino acids. During malnutrition these responses may further compromise growth and may be compromised themselves. Our new stable isotope techniques to measure tissue protein synthesis as well as synthesis of GSH and individual plasma proteins allow comprehensive examination of the mechanisms of how pools of individual proteins or products of amino acids are maintained, augmented or depleted in states of malnutrition and/or oxidative stress.