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Amino acid compartmentation in chick blood during the peri-hatching period
Insights
Chick blood cells store significantly higher amino acid concentrations than plasma, acting as crucial transporters and reservoirs. These levels change post-hatching, revealing distinct avian amino acid metabolism compared to mammals.
Area of Science:
- Avian Physiology
- Biochemistry
- Comparative Metabolism
Background:
- Amino acid levels in blood are critical for physiological functions.
- Understanding amino acid compartmentation in avian blood is essential for metabolic studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify individual amino acid levels and their distribution in chick blood.
- To compare amino acid profiles during development and in adult chickens.
- To elucidate the role of avian blood cells in amino acid transport and storage.
Main Methods:
- Measurement of individual amino acid concentrations in chick plasma and blood cells.
- Analysis at different developmental stages: day 20 incubation, hatching, 1-day, 5-day free life, and adult chickens.
- Comparison of avian blood amino acid levels with mammalian erythrocytes.
Main Results:
- Blood cell amino acid concentrations were ~10x higher than plasma, exceeding mammalian erythrocyte levels.
- Plasma amino acid levels peaked at hatching and decreased in adults; cellular levels showed a steady increase.
- Total blood amino acid levels rose post-hatching due to intracellular accumulation, increasing cell/plasma ratios.
Conclusions:
- Avian blood cells function as significant amino acid reservoirs and transporters, differing from mammalian cells.
- Alanine's role as a nitrogen carrier is supported by its cellular increase.
- Developmental changes indicate dynamic amino acid availability and utilization in growing chickens.
Abstract:
Individual amino acid levels and compartmentation in chick blood were measured on day 20 of incubation, at hatching (day 0), or after 1 or 5 days of free life, and compared with those of adult chickens. Blood cell amino acid concentrations were almost one order of magnitude higher than those of plasma, with higher values than those found in mammalian erythrocytes. This difference may be due to the capability for protein synthesis of the nucleated cells coupled with a postulated utilization of amino acids as fuel. The most common pattern of individual plasma amino acid levels was a slight rise at hatching followed by a large decrease, with minimal values for adults. The patterns in the cells did not always coincide with those for plasma. Total blood amino acid levels increased steadily during the period studied due to the increase in intracellular amino acids, giving rise to increasing blood-cell/plasma concentration ratios. These changes showed higher availability of plasma amino acids just after hatching, while the cell concentrations increased steadily to the maximum values in adults. The increase in alanine levels in cells with little changes in plasma can be correlated with the role of this amino acid as the main 2-amino nitrogen carrier in the avian bloodstream. The high amino acid levels in the cells suggest that these cells act as inter-organ transporters and reservoirs of amino acids, they have a different role in their handling and metabolism from those of mammals.