Maternal dietary deficiency and its effect on the metabolism of nucleic acids and proteins. "Effect of exchanging the young, during the lactation period, between the control and undernourished female rats"

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Abstract
The effect of maternal dietary deficiency on the metabolism of nucleic acids and proteins was studied by exchanging the pups of control and undernourished dams during the lactation period. In the pups of control dams fostered by undernourished dams during the lactation period (E3), it was observed that the body and organ weight, and RNA, DNA, and protein content failed to increase normally. Contrary to this, the free leucine and nucleotide contents were higher and their specific activities lower in the plasma and various organs of the E3 group as compared with the control group.Specific activity of protein was higher in the liver, brain, kidney, and lung, and was lower in the spleen and heart of the E3 group as compared with the control group. Specific activity of RNA was higher in the liver, spleen, and lung, and was lower in the brain, kidney, and heart of the E3 group as compared with the control group.In the pups of undernourished dams fostered by the control dams during the lactation period (E1), the body and organ weights, the RNA, DNA, and protein content, the content of free leucine and nucleotides as well as their specific activities, and the specific activity of protein and RNA were partially or completely restored. However, the DNA content of the brain remained unchanged in comparison with those pups of undernourished dams nursed by their own mother (E2). In the brain, kidney, spleen, and lung of the E1 group, the specific activity of RNA increased considerably and even exceeded the control values.The radioactivity results discussed above clearly demonstrate an accelerated metabolism of protein and RNA in the various organs of the E3 group and a partial or complete normalization in the E1 group.