Figure 3

Foetal muscle protein synthesis and degradation. Total foetal muscle protein (μg · mg^-1) (A), muscle protein synthesis (nmol · μg protein^-1 · h^-1) (B) and muscle protein degradation (nmol · μg protein^-1 · h^-1) (C) in foetuses of tumour-bearing pregnant rats that were subjected to a leucine-rich or control diet. Protein synthesis was assessed by measuring phenylalanine incorporation (for details, see Methods), and protein degradation was assessed by the amount of tyrosine that was released from perfused muscle (for details, see Methods). Legend: C – control rats; L – rats fed a leucine-rich diet; W – tumour-bearing rats; LW – tumour-bearing rats fed a leucine-rich diet; Cp – rats subjected to a similar, paired-nutrition intake of rats in Group W; and Lp – rats subjected to a leucine-rich diet and nutrition that was paired to the intake of the rats in Group LW. * P < 0.05; significantly different compared to group C. • P < 0.05; significantly different compared to group L. ^aP < 0.05; significantly different compared to groups W or LW. # P < 0.05, significantly different from group W.