Measurements of the turnover rate of glutamine in normal and acidotic rats.

The turnover of glutamine was measured in rats with [1-14C]glutamine. Rates of turnover measured by constant infusion of the label were 130 mumol/h per 100g body wt. in control rats and were not changed in chronic metabolic acidosis. These rates of turnover of whole-body glutamine were about 13-26% of the rate of net glutamine release into the bloodstream, indicating that the bulk of glutamine turnover in vivo is concerned with intracellular processes rather than inter-organ fluxes.