Thioacetamide effects on protein metabolism in the liver: lessons from isolated hepatocytes

The effects of a short-term treatment with thioacetamide have been studied in isolated hepatocytes obtained from intoxicated rats. A technique has been developed which utilizes leucine alternatively labeled with either [14C] or [3H] and permits the simultaneous evaluation of protein synthesis, catabolism and secretion in the same cell during the same incubation period. The results indicate that short-term thioacetamide treatment causes an overall slowing-down of protein metabolism. Protein synthesis, however, decreases less than protein degradation and total protein secretion; albumin secretion, which is also less than normal, seems to be less compromised than total protein secretion.