Effect of elective surgical procedures on tissue protein synthesis

The purpose of the study was to examine whether an early decrease in protein synthesis rates occurred in any tissues after abdominal surgery in postprandial rats. Leucine-specific radioactivity in mixed protein and on tRNA was determined after continuous infusion of L-[3H]leucine. Synthesis rates of mixed protein were significantly decreased in the gastrocnemius muscle, but not in the jejunum, liver, or heart, of rats 1-2 hr after splenectomy and ovariectomy or after combining the groups that had various types of abdominal surgery. These results suggest that a very early decrease in the protein synthesis rate of the gastrocnemius muscle occurs after laparotomy.