Effect of starvation on protein synthesis in neonatal rat liver.

Hepatic protein synthesis was measured in vivo and in vitro (liver slice) in 6- and 19-day-old rats. Fed and 15-hour starved rats were compared in each individual experiment. The study demonstrated that in the 6-day-old rat, hepatic protein synthesis is very sensitive to restrictions in dietary influx. In contrast, no significant differences in protein synthesis were detected when 19-day-old rats were fasted for 15 hours. In the fed state, the protein synthetic activity of the tissue unit was the same irrespective of age. Thus, it appears that it is not the maximal capacity for protein synthesis that changes with age, but rather the extent to which the system can adapt to the changing nutritional environment.