The Effect of Diabetes on Renal Lysine Utilization[*]

Abstract

Current evidence indicates that a hydroxylysine-rich glycoprotein may be of importance in the structural organization and accumulation of glomerular basement membrane in the diabetic state. To further evaluate the role of insulin deficiency in renal glycoprotein synthesis, the effect of experimental diabetes on the incorporation and hydroxylation of 14C-lysine by cell-free systems prepared from rat renal cortex was examined. Microsomal protein synthesis was increased in diabetic preparations, but the rise in renal cortical collagen synthesis relative to total protein synthesis was greater. These changes were not duplicated by the addition of a mixture of unlabeled amino acids or hydroxylation cofactors to incubations with preparations from normal animals.

Key words

Diabetes - Protein Synthesis - Renal Collagen Synthesis

1 Presented in part at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association; Chicago 1973.
Supported by Grant No. RR 5384-11 from the National Institutes of Health; The Detroit General Hospital Research Corporation; and grants-in-aid from Wayne State University and the Eli Lilly Comp.

1 Presented in part at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association; Chicago 1973.
Supported by Grant No. RR 5384-11 from the National Institutes of Health; The Detroit General Hospital Research Corporation; and grants-in-aid from Wayne State University and the Eli Lilly Comp.