title: Metabolic effects of l-alanyl-glutamine in burned rats.
abstract: Burn injury elicits a sustained hypermetabolic state characterized by accelerated hepatic synthesis of amino acids and proteolysis leading to negative nitrogen balance. This paper was aimed at studying the effects l-alanyl-glutamine (Ala-Gln) exogenous offer to rats submitted to thermal burn. Twenty-four anesthetized male Wistar rats were submitted to scald burn of dorsal skin (30% body surface). Eighteen and 42-h later rats were randomized to receive (by gavage) 2ml of water (G-1) or equal volume (0.5g/kg weight/day) of Ala-Gln solution (G-2). Tissue and blood samples were collected at the end of 24 and 48-h post-burn trauma (PBT). Blood concentrations of metabolites (glucose, pyruvate, lactate and ketone bodies) were similar in all groups. There were significant differences in tissue metabolites concentrations in Ala-Gln treated rats (G-2) compared to control (G-1) following scald injury. The administration of Ala-Gln to burned rats induces a fall ATP (muscle, healthy skin), pyruvate and ketone bodies (liver) concentrations 24-h PBT. It also induces significant increase of lactate (burned skin) 24-h and glucose (liver) 28/48-h PBT. Rise of tissue lactate concentrations may be due to enhanced anaerobic glycolysis resulting from increased availability of glutamate, derived from glutamine, with possible activation of the malate-aspartate shuttle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, UFC, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. mcirur@npd.ufc.br
authors.forename: Rômulo Cesar Costa
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.forename: Sergio Botelho
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.forename: Paulo Roberto Cavalcante
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: de Vasconcelos
authors.forename: Carolyne Rolim
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Chaves
authors.forename: Paulo Roberto Leitão
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: de Vasconcelos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002056:Burns / Q000378:metabolism*; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D007657:Ketone Bodies / Q000378:metabolism; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D019289:Pyruvic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D004151:Dipeptides; D007657:Ketone Bodies; D019344:Lactic Acid; D019289:Pyruvic Acid; C054122:alanylglutamine