Interaction of amino acids and insulin in the regulation of protein metabolism in growing animals

Young animals utilize their dietary amino acids more efficiently for growth because they are capable of a greater increase in tissue protein synthesis in response to feeding than older animals. This response to feeding is particularly profound in skeletal muscle. The feeding-induced stimulation of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle is uniquely and independently regulated by both insulin and amino acids. In most visceral tissues, the stimulation of protein synthesis by feeding is mediated by amino acids alone and not by insulin. The stimulation of protein synthesis by nutrition and hormones is regulated by alterations in the expression and activity of components of the intracellular signaling pathways that control the initiation of translation.