The influence of thyroid gland on amino acid accumulation and protein synthesis by rat small intestine in vitro

1. A method is described for measuring the accumulation of amino acids and also the extent to which the absorbed amino acids are incorporated into the tissue protein of rings of rat intestine in vitro.2. With this method rat jejunum was found to accumulate a mixture of amino acids to give a concentration in the tissue water which was 2-3 times that in the medium after 8 min incubation. More than 10% of the absorbed amino acids were found to be incorporated into protein.3. In surgically thyroidectomized animals there was no impairment of the capacity of the intestine to accumulate amino acids nor was there any loss of ability to incorporate these amino acids into protein. Similarly, treatment of the thyroidectomized animals with 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T(3)) did not produce any significant change either in the rate of accumulation or in the extent of the incorporation of the amino acids.4. The omission of glucose from the incubation medium was found to cause a large increase in the respiration of mucosal slices in the presence of the amino acid mixture. Thyroidectomy significantly reduced this high respiration rate. Treatment of thyroidectomized animals with T(3) restored the respiration to high value.