Amino acids deficiencies

All 20 of the amino acids present in proteins are essential for health. While comparatively rare in the Western world, amino acid deficiency states are endemic in certain regions of West Africa where the diet relies heavily on grains that are poor sources of amino acids such as tryptophan and lysine. These disorders include kwashiorkor, which results when a child is weaned onto a starchy diet poor in protein and marasmus, in which both caloric intake and specific amino acids are deficient. 

Hyland, K., and Clayton, P. T. (1990). Aromatic amino acid deficiency in twins. J. Inherited Metab. Dis. 13 301-304. 

Combining two incomplete proteins that have complementary amino acid deficiencies results in a mixture with a higher biologic value. 

Nutritionally, humans derive their pyridoxal coenzyme from vitamin B6. Most symptoms of vitamin Be deficiency apparently result from the involvement of the coenzyme in the biosynthesis of neurotransmitters and the niacin group of NAD and NADPH rather than from amino acid deficiency. 

Hayase, K., Yokogoshi, H., and Yoshida, A. (1980). Effect of dietary proteins and amino acid deficiencies on urinary excretion of nitrogen and the urea synthesizing system in rats. /. lYirtr, no, 1327-1337. 

The following diseases and conditions indicate amino acid deficiency. 

Blevins JE, Truong BG, Gietzen DW. 2004. NMDA receptor function within the anterior piriform cortex and lateral hypothalamus in rats on the control of intake of amino acid-deficient diets. Brain Res 1019 124-144. 

Firman JD, Kuenzel WJ. 1988. Neuroanatomical regions of the chick brain involved in monitoring amino acid deficient diets. Brain Res Bull 21 637-642. 

Gietzen DW. 1993. Neural mechanisms in the responses to amino acid deficiency. J Nutr 123 610-625. 

Gietzen DW, Magrum LJ. 2001. Molecular mechanisms involved in the anorexia of branched chain amino acid deficiency. J Nutr 131 851S-855S. 

Gietzen DW, Ross CM, Hao S, Sharp fVY 2004. Phosphorylation of eIF2a is involved in the signaling of indispensable amino acid deficiency in the anterior piriform cortex of the brain in rats. J Nutr 134 717-723. (First demonstration of the phosphorylation of eIF2a in the APC in response to lAA deficiency)... 

Hao S, Ross-Inta CM, Nemanic S, Gietzen DW. 2006. Rapamycin independent responses to amino acid deficiency in the anterior piriform cortex. 

Hao S, Sharp JW, Ross-Inta CM, McDaniel BJ, Anthony TG, et al. 2005a. Uncharged tRNA and sensing of amino acid deficiency in mammalian piriform cortex. Science 307 1776-1778. (First report of the full biochemical pathway from a measured decrease in the limiting lAA to phosphorylation of elF2a in the brain area that serves as the sensor for lAA depletion)... 

Hrupka BJ, Lin Y, Gietzen DW, Rogers QR. 1997. Small changes in essential amino acid concentrations dictate diet selection in amino acid-deficient states. J Nutr 127 777-784. (Shows threshold for discrimination of lAA in the parts-per-million range after basal diet prefeeding)... 

Koehnle TJ, Gietzen DW. 2005. Modulation of feeding behavior by amino acid deficient diets present findings and future directions. Nutritional Neuroscience, Chapter 10. Lieberman HR, Kanarek RB, Prasad C, editors. Boca Raton, FL CRC Press pp. 147-161. 

Markison S, Gietzen DW, Spector AC. (1999) Essential amino acid deficiency enhances long-term intake but not short-term licking ofthe required nutrient. J Nutr 129 1604-1612. 

Sharp JW, Magrum LJ, Gietzen DW. 2002. Role of MAP kinase in signaling indispensable amino acid deficiency in the brain. Brain Res Mol Brain Res 105 11-18. 

Wang Y, Cummings SL, Gietzen DW. 1996. Temporal-spatial pattern of c-Fos expression in the rat brain in response to amino acid deficiency I. The initial recognition phase. Mol Brain Res 40 27-34. 

Sidransky, H., Chemical and cellular pathology of experimental acute amino acid deficiency, Meth. Achie. Exp. Pathol., 6,1, 1972. 

Sidransky, H., Wagle, D. S., Bongiorno, M., and Vemey, E., Chemical pathology of acute amino acid deficiencies. Studies on hepatic enzymes in rats force-fed a threonine-devoid diet, /. Nutr., 100, 678, 1970. 

Lyman, R. L., and Wilcox, S. S., Effect of acute amino acid deficiencies on carcass composition and pancreatic function in the force-fed rat. I. Efficiencies of valine, lysine, tryptophan, leucine, and isoleucine, /. Nutr., 79, 37, 1963. 

Cannon, P. R., Some Pathologic Consequences of Protein and Amino Acid Deficiencies, Charles C Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1948. 

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