Size distribution of ribosomes in biopsy specimens of human skeletal muscle during starvation.
The changes in the poly- and monoribosome distribution and in the total ribosome concentration in muscle during short term starvation were investigated. Transcutaneous muscle biopsies of 50 mg wet wt were taken from healthy human subjects, nonstarved and after one, two, and three days of total starvation. The percentage amount of polyribosomes was significantly lower (P less than 0.02) on days 2 and 3 of starvation than on day 0 (nonstarved). No significant sex-dependent differences were observed between the group of five females and six males. Ribosome concentration per g wet wt of muscle tissue was significantly lower on day 3 than on each preceding day (P less than 0.05). The reproducibility of the polyribosome analyses, together with the changes observed, suggest a future application of this method for evaluation of the effects of nutritional support in patients with posttraumatic and septic conditions.
D000090:Acetoacetates / Q000097:blood; D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D002458:Cell Fractionation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006885:Hydroxybutyrates / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000652:urine; D011132:Polyribosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013217:Starvation / Q000378:metabolism*; D014554:Urination
D000090:Acetoacetates; D001786:Blood Glucose; D006885:Hydroxybutyrates; D009584:Nitrogen