Regulation of hepatic protein synthesis in chronic inflammation and sepsis

The regulation of protein synthesis was determined in livers from control, sterile inflammatory, and septic animals. Total liver protein was increased in both sterile inflammation and sepsis. The rate of protein synthesis in vivo was measured by the incorporation of [3H]phenylalanine into liver proteins in a chronic (5 day) intra-abdominal abscess model. Both sterile inflammation and sepsis increased total hepatic protein synthesis approximately twofold. Perfused liver studies demonstrated that the increased protein synthesis rate in vivo resulted from a stimulation in the synthesis of both secreted and nonsecreted proteins. The total hepatic RNA content was increased 40% only in sterile inflammation, whereas the translational efficiency was increased twofold only in sepsis. The increase in translational efficiency was accompanied by decreases in the amount of free 40S and 60S ribosomal subunits in sepsis. Rates of peptide-chain elongation in vivo were increased 40% in both sterile inflammation and sepsis. These results demonstrate that sepsis induces changes in the regulation of hepatic protein synthesis that are independent of the general inflammatory response. In sterile inflammation, the increase in protein synthesis occurs by a combination of increased capacity and translational efficiency, while in sepsis, the mechanism responsible for accelerated protein synthesis is an increased translational efficiency.