Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 19, 2026

Isolation of Primary Mouse Hepatocytes for Nascent Protein Synthesis Analysis by Non-radioactive L-azidohomoalanine Labeling Method
Published on: October 23, 2018
Hungry for your alanine: when liver depends on muscle proteolysis
Theresia Sarabhai1,2, Michael Roden1,2,3
1Institute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center, Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Abstract:
Fasting requires complex endocrine and metabolic interorgan crosstalk, which involves shifting from glucose to fatty acid oxidation, derived from adipose tissue lipolysis, in order to preserve glucose for the brain. The glucose-alanine (Cahill) cycle is critical for regenerating glucose. In this issue of JCI, Petersen et al. report on their use of an innovative stable isotope tracer method to show that skeletal muscle-derived alanine becomes rate controlling for hepatic mitochondrial oxidation and, in turn, for glucose production during prolonged fasting. These results provide new insight into skeletal muscle-liver metabolic crosstalk during the fed-to-fasting transition in humans.
More Related Videos
06:32Evaluation of Amino Acid Consumption in Cultured Bone Cells and Isolated Bone Shafts
Published on: April 13, 2022
14:42Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Refractive Index or Mass Spectrometric Detection for Metabolite Profiling in Lysate-based Cell-free Systems
Published on: September 23, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Amino Acid Catabolism
Overview of Protein Metabolism
Amino acids play various roles in the body once they are absorbed into cells. They are restructured...
Protein Digestion
Amino Acid Biosynthetic Pathways
Muscle Recovery and Fatigue
Liver Physiology
Metabolic Regulation:
The liver is the central organ involved in regulating blood composition. It stabilizes blood glucose levels, maintaining them within the range of 70–110 mg/dL. When these levels drop, the liver breaks down glycogen reserves and releases glucose into the bloodstream. It can...