Role of protein degradation in the regulation of cellular protein content and amino acid pools.

A decrease in the rate of protein degradation contributes to the accumulation of cellular protein during growth or storage of dietary amino acids. Examples of this process in the liver of live mice are reviewed. One aspect of this regulation is the direct effect of amino acids on the rate of protein breakdown. At least in the case of histidine starvation in Chinese hamster ovary cells, the regulatory mechanism recognizes the level of aminoacylation of tRNA.