Postnatal increase in the metabolism of leucine and valine

The catabolism of tritium-labeled leucine, valine, and glycine was determined by measuring the appearance of tritium-labeled water at various postnatal and adult ages in rats. Results for leucine and valine show a marked increase in the formation of labeled water during the 3rd postnatal week. The partial exclusion of leucine and valine from brain, as a result of the blood-brain barrier, particularly enhances observation of labeled water formation in that the product (water) and precursor (amino acid) are largely separated (supporting experiments demonstrate the prior existence of the blood-brain barrier for leucine). Results for glycine indicate its extensive metabolic degradation at all postnatal ages. These data indicate that the metabolic rate of intraperitoneally administered, radioactively labeled leucine and valine changes appreciably during early postnatal development. The early postnatal manifestation of human disorders of branched-chain amino acid metabolism is consistent with the chronology of development in the rat.