John F. Henry
Research Instructor
Baylor College of Medicine
jhenry@bcm.tmc.edu
Protein Metabolism and Amino Acid Requirements
My research interest is understanding the regulation of growth
and protein deposition by diet and the influence of other environmental
variables such as stress. In particular, I am interested in the
regulation of protein turnover and amino acid metabolism as it impacts
the metabolic efficiency and nutritional requirements of infant
mammals. The research utilizes in-vivo studies with stable isotopes
in young pigs.
My research focus for the immediate future will be the study of
amino acid biosynthesis and the role of amino acids as biosynthetic
precursors. This work will entail the use of uniformly 13C-labeled
substrates and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to measure multiple
mass isotopomers of a wide variety of organic precursors and metabolic
products. It will focus on the metabolism of the cells of the intestine.
Representative publications:
Stoll B, Henry J, Reeds PJ, Yu H, Jahoor F, Burrin D. Catabolism
dominates the first-pass intestinal metabolism of dietary essential
amino acids in milk protein-fed piglets. J Nutr 128:606-614, 1998.
Reeds PJ, Burrin D, Stoll B, Jahoor F, Wykes L, Henry J, Frazer
ME. Enteral glutamate is the preferential source for mucosal glutathione
synthesis in fed piglets. Am J Physiol 273 (Endocrinol Metab 36):
E408-E415, 1997.
Jahoor F, Wykes LJ, Reeds PJ, Henry JF, Del Rosario MP, Frazer
ME. Protein-deficient pigs cannot maintain reduced glutathione homeostasis
when subjected to the stress of inflammation. J Nutr 125: 1462-1472,
1995.
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