The control by insulin of amino acid accumulation in muscle

1. The capacity of insulin to enhance the accumulation by muscle of several amino acids was studied. Reports that threonine uptake is enhanced by insulin were not confirmed, despite its enhanced incorporation into protein. Uptake of beta-alanine and gamma-aminobutyric acid also did not respond to the hormone. A stimulation of accumulation of alanine, histidine and ethionine was observed. 2. The capacity of inhibitors of protein synthesis to reveal a stimulation by insulin of accumulation of several amino acids, hitherto considered unresponsive to insulin in the absence of inhibitor, was confirmed. Cycloheximide was as effective as puromycin. However, two of these amino acids, alanine and histidine, here showed response to insulin in the absence of inhibitor. The presence of cycloheximide was found to enhance uptake of cycloleucine, ethionine and threonine; in its presence insulin enhanced uptake of beta-alanine and alpha-methyltyrosine. 3. It is concluded that the influence of inhibitors of protein synthesis on amino acid accumulation and the response of amino acid accumulation to insulin are not adequately explained on the basis of inhibition of protein synthesis allowing amino acids to accumulate more readily. 4. The technical problems of whether linear rates of incorporation of amino acids into protein really indicate more than one cell pool are discussed and safeguards suggested. That initial rates of incorporation of label into protein are likely to be non-linear is shown.