Protein turnover measured in vivo and in vitro in muscles undergoing compensatory growth and subsequent denervation atrophy

The rapid growth (1-6 days) of the functionally overloaded soleus muscle, in response to tenotomy of the synergist gastrocnemius, was found to correlate with increases in both the protein synthetic and degradative rates, the change in the former being greater than that of the latter. These conclusions were drawn from two different methods used to measure (in vivo and in vitro) the average rates of protein synthesis and protein breakdown in these soleus muscles. Although the basal rates of synthesis were higher when measured in vivo, and the degradative rates higher in isolated muscle preparations incubated in vitro, both methods gave good agreement concerning the changes in protein turnover induced by tenotomy of the gastrocnemius. The possible involvement of passive stretch in inducing this additional growth is discussed. As an antagonist to the soleus, growth of the extensor digitorum longus muscle was decreased under the same conditions, presumably because of less usage. At 3 days after the cutting of the sciatic nerve, the previously normal or overloaded soleus muscles underwent rapid atrophy. Although in both cases RNA and protein were lost, while protein synthesis decreased and protein breakdown increased, denervation induced larger changes within these parameters of the formerly overloaded muscle. The slowing of growth in the tenotomized gastrocnemius, and its subsequent rapid atrophy after additional denervation, were explained by large increases in protein breakdown, with little or no change in the synthetic rate.