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Energy restriction only slightly influences protein metabolism in obese rats, whatever the level of protein and its source in the diet

International Journal of Obesity volume 37, pages 263–271 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

BACKGROUND:

High protein (HP) diets during energy restriction have been studied extensively regarding their ability to reduce body fat and preserve lean body mass, but little is known about their effects on protein metabolism in lean tissues.

OBJECTIVE:

To determine the effects of energy restriction and protein intake on protein anabolism and catabolism in rats.

METHODS:

For 5 weeks, 56 male Wistar rats were fed an obesity induction (OI) diet . They were then subjected to a 40% energy restriction using the OI diet or a balanced HP diet for 3 weeks, whereas a control group was fed the OI diet ad libitum (n=8 per group). HP-restricted rats were divided into five groups differing only in terms of their protein source: total milk proteins, casein (C), whey (W), a mix of 50% C and W, and soy (n=8). The animals were then killed in the postprandial state and their body composition was determined. Protein synthesis rates were determined in the liver, gastrocnemius and kidney using a subcutaneous 13C valine flooding dose. mRNA levels were measured for key enzymes involved in the three proteolysis pathways.

RESULTS:

Energy restriction, but not diet composition, impacted weight loss and adiposity, whereas lean tissue mass (except in the kidney) was not influenced by diet composition. Levels of neoglucogenic amino acids tended to fall under energy restriction (P<0.06) but this was reversed by a high level of protein. The postprandial protein synthesis rates in different organs were similar in all groups. By contrast, mRNA levels encoding proteolytic enzymes rose under energy restriction in the muscle and kidney, but this was counteracted by a HP level.

CONCLUSIONS:

In adult obese rats, energy restriction but not diet composition affected fat pads and had little impact on protein metabolism, despite marked effects on proteolysis in the kidney and muscle.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from CNIEL, and the French Agency for Research and Technology (Program PNRA 2006; SURPROL). We are indebted to the CNIEL for its financial support and constructive scientific discussions. We thank Angélique Simonin for her assistance with animal care and dissection procedures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA, CRNH-IdF, UMR914 Nutrition Physiology and Ingestive Behavior, AgroParisTech, Paris, France

    L Chevalier, C Bos, D Azzout-Marniche, G Fromentin, J Piedcoq, D Tomé & C Gaudichon

  2. AgroParisTech, CRNH-IdF, UMR914 Nutrition Physiology and Ingestive Behavior, Paris, France

    L Chevalier, C Bos, D Azzout-Marniche, G Fromentin, J Piedcoq, D Tomé & C Gaudichon

  3. INRA, UMR 1019 Nutrition Humaine, Saint Genès Champanelle, France

    L Mosoni & N Hafnaoui

  4. Univ Clermont 1, UFR Médecine, UMR1019 Nutrition Humaine, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    L Mosoni & N Hafnaoui

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  1. L Chevalier
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  2. C Bos
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Correspondence to C Gaudichon.

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Chevalier, L., Bos, C., Azzout-Marniche, D. et al. Energy restriction only slightly influences protein metabolism in obese rats, whatever the level of protein and its source in the diet. Int J Obes 37, 263–271 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2012.19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2012.19

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