4. Amino Acid and Protein Metabolism (Part II) Flashcards
What did the DRI report determine in terms of sex and age?
Separate requirements could not be determined for women versus men, or for older adults and the elderly
What did the DRI report determine in terms of pregnant and lactating women?
- “Essentially there is no data”
- In terms of ethical issues, it is not normally recommended to perform low-protein diet studies on pregnant women and children
- The new tracer methods allow these studies to be achieved over a shorter period of time, which means that new data is incoming
What did the DRI report determine in terms of children?
- “Data is based on factorial analysis”
- Largely theoretical, and resembles determining a budget
What did the DRI report determine in terms of infants?
- “Data is based on intake of breast milk”
- AI is known, but not the EAR and RDA
How do the nutritional needs of unhealthy infants differ from healthy, breastfed infants?
The needs are more known for unhealthy infants, since their presence within the hospital allows for an opportunity for their analysis
What did the DRI report determine in terms of physical activity?
- “In view of a lack of compelling evidence to the contrary, no additional dietary protein is suggested for healthy adults undertaking resistance or endurance exercise”
- However, the data has changed DRASTICALLY since this report
What complicates nutrition research in women?
- Women possess two major stages of the menstrual cycle (follicular and luteal)
- Researchers must always ask themselves: “does the hormonal profile affect metabolism?”
A study by the Sick Kids was conducted concerning lysine requirement in men and women, during the follicular and luteal stages. What were the results?
- Women in the follicular phase (before ovulation) had a lower protein requirement, but it wasn’t significantly different
- If terms of lean body mass, lysine requirement increased significantly following ovulation (luteal phase)
What studies concerning amino acid requirements do we need?
- Age groups
- Females
- Physiological conditions
- Functional criteria of adequacy
- Conditionally indispensable amino acids and special products
What studies concerning amino acid requirements in specific physiological conditions do we need? Which is the most important?
- Healthy infants (most important)
- Prematurity
- Intravenous feeding
- Inborn errors
- Metabolic stress
- Liver disease
- Exercise
What did the North American Protein Advisory Board analyze in Montreal in 2013? What was the consensus?
- Whether amino acid and protein requirement in critical illness were higher than in the healthy state
- Designed randomized control trials
- Protein requirement in general is much higher for individuals in critical conditions
What do IV regimens bypass?
- Bypass the GI tract (splanchnic control)
- Infuse nutrients directly into circulation
What was the lipid portion of IV regimens based on in the past? What was the effect? What is now currently available?
- An emulsion of soybean oil, which contains a large portion of linoleic acid (omega-6), producing pro-inflammatory cytokines
- Opposite desired effect in a critical illness
- Products using oleic acids are now available
What are limitations of intravenous regimens?
- Metabolic uncertainty
- Amino acids must be free, soluble, and stable
Which amino acids may not be used in IV treatments? Why?
- Tyrosine is insoluble
- Cysteine is unstable since it oxidizes, and is not soluble
How may tyrosine insolubility in IV treatments be tackled? Which age group may not receive this treatment, and why?
- Increasing phenylalanine, since tyrosine is derived from phenylalanine
- Does not function in babies, as they do not metabolize tyrosine efficiently, which causes large accumulations of phenylalanine or tyrosine
What was the traditional approach to IV feeding and tackling tyrosine insolubility in babies?
- Ignoring the problem, and letting the body take care of it
- Increasing phenylalanine may not be used in babies
What are two soluble tyrosine precursors?
- N-acetyltyrosine
- Glyclyl-tyrosine (we possess many dipeptidases that can hydrolyze the peptide bond)
What does Vamin originate from? What does Vaminolactin originate from?
- Vamin: egg-patterned
- Vaminolactin: human milk-patterned
What does Vamin contain? What is the resulting nitrogen retention?
- High phenylalanine and low tyrosine
- Nitrogen retention is 80%
What does Vaminolactin contain? What is the resulting nitrogen retention?
- Low phenylalanine and low tyrosine
- Nitrogen retention of 70%
What resulted from the addition of phenylalanine to Vaminolactin? What does that indicate?
- Increased nitrogen balance
- Indicates that aromatic amino acids are limiting in Vaminolactin
- However, as increased phenylalanine may not be provided in babies, another solution was necessary
What resulted from the addition of N-acetyltyrosine to Vaminolactin?
Did not increase nitrogen balance, and thus did not accomplish the required function
What resulted from the addition of glycyl-tyrosine to Vaminolactin?
- Increase in nitrogen balance, and functioned extremely well
- However, the solution was extremely expensive, and the patient population that utilizes this approach is limited to babies
What is an example of an inborn error of metabolism?
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
Under normal circumstances, what percentage of dietary proteins is composed of phenylalanine and tyrosine?
- 4% phenylalanine
- 4% tyrosine
- Slightly less than average
How is tyrosine produced?
By hydroxylation of phenylalanine by phenylalanine hydroxylase
What is phenylketonuria caused by?
- Inborn error of metabolism
- Phenylalanine hydroxylase is non-functional, caused by a genetic polymorphism (autosomal recessive)
What are the consequences of PKU?
- Phenylalanine builds up as it cannot be converted to tyrosine
- Phenylalanine ends up being catabolized to phenylketones that are excreted in large amounts in urine
- The accumulation of phenylalanine and/or phenylketones are toxic to the developing brain and may cause seizures and severe developmental delays
How is phenylketonuria diagnosed? When is it screened for?
- Blood tests or urinalysis
- Analyzed in neonatal screening programs
Which types of diseases are screened for in neonatal screening programs?
The diseases must be relatively commonly occurring, and must possess an effective treatment that, if instituted early, makes a difference in the outcome of the disorder
What is the treatment for PKU?
- Immediate treatment is IMPERATIVE
- Low phenylalanine (ex: Phenyl-Free) and high tyrosine diet
When is treatment for PKU imperative? When is it less important?
- When the brain is still developing, maintaining the low-phenylalanine diet is extremely important
- In adulthood, the brain is less vulnerable to increased phenylalanine and phenylketones
- The treatment is also imperative for pregnant women, as their phenylalanine can affect the fetal brain by crossing the placenta
What is protein deficiency normally accompanied by?
- Energy deficiency (ex: anorexia nervosa)
- Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
Which organ is most affected by protein deficiency, as shown by Dr. Wykes piglet study? Why?
- The gut
- High protein turnover
- 75% of the proteins in the gut are remade every day in the control
Which organ is least affected by protein deficiency, as shown by Dr. Wykes piglet study? Why?
- Muscle
- Low protein turnover
- Piglets only remake 8% of proteins in muscle tissue every day (humans only remake 2%)
Why must the gut maintain a rapid rate of turnover?
As the epithelial cells lining the intestine must remain intact to allow for proper transport and absorption of nutrients
In terms of clinical observations, what occurs if an individual is malnourished?
The gut atrophies, gets thinner as there is less metabolic tissue present, and slows down
What did Voigt originally propose in terms of protein requirement?
- He proposed a requirement of 0.9-1.0 g/kg/d
- His date was ignored by the DRI requirement report based on nitrogen balance (0.66 g/kg/d)
- However, the situation is currently being re-examined, and the requirement ressembles more of what he originally concluded
What method is used to find the point of minimal variability between the line of the slope at low intakes and the line of the slope at constant intakes (breakpoint) in nitrogen balance studies?
Bootstrapping
Using the same nitrogen balance data from 50 years ago, using modern statistical methods, what corresponds to the breakpoint (EAR)? What is the RDA?
- EAR: 0.9 g/kg/d
- RDA: 1.0 g/kg/d
What is the AMDR for protein?
10 to 35%
What recommendations (new or old) does the AMDR correspond to?
- The NEW recommendations
- They also correspond to the current protein intake in North America, assuming food security is maintained
What decreases when an individual is fed 0.6 g/kg/d for 7 days?
- Protein turnover
- Albumin synthesis (negative acute phase protein)
What are the functions of albumin?
- Functions to maintain proper fluid balance
- Possesses many binding sites to transport nutrients and certain toxins
What increases when an individual is fed 0.6 g/kg/d for 7 days?
Fibrinogen synthesis (positive acute phase protein)
What are positive acute phase proteins? Give an example.
- Increase during a fever, infection, stress or wound-healing
- Ex: fibrinogen, antibodies, immune cells
What decreases when an individual is fed 0.75 g/kg/d for 7 days?
- Protein turnover
- Albumin synthesis (negative acute phase protein)
- Glutathione synthesis
What are negative acute phase proteins?
- Decrease during a fever, infection, stress or wound-healing
- Ex: albumin
What susceptibility increases in the absence of glutathione?
Susceptibility to oxidative stress
What eases the determination of adequate protein levels in infants?
The fact that they are growing
What is the ideal birth weight? How does it change in 5 months?
- Ideal birth rate: 7.5 pounds
- 5 months: doubles to 15 pounds
What does a child falling off the growth curve indicate?
- Growth issue
- Dietary issue or failure to thrive