Starvation and refeeding in rats: effect on organismic respiration, cytoplasmic constituents of liver, and succinic dehydrogenase activity in liver, kidney, and heart.

An analysis of starvation and starvation followed by refeeding was undertaken to characterize some organismic, organ, and mitochondrial responses to these two circumstances. Body weight, organismic respiration as well as weight protein and succinic dehydrogenase activity for liver, kidney, and heart were determined over the course of 6 days of starvation and 5 days refeeding for adult male rats. Assays of marker enzyme activities for mitochondria (cytochrome oxidase), lysosomes (acid phosphatase), endoplasmic reticulum (glucose-6-phosphatase), and plasma membranes (5'-nucleotidase) were conducted for liver in addition to quantitations of mitochondrial protein. All enzyme determinations were done on whole tissue homogenates and reported as total organ activity. Liver mitochondria were harvested quantitatively directly from whole liver homogenates by zonal centrifugation for determination of mitochondrial protein. Starvation resulted in a major loss of body weight, organ weight, and organ protein; liver greater than kidney greater than heart. These changes were accompanied by a major reduction in organ succinic dehydrogenase activity; liver greater than kidney. In heart, succinic dehydrogenase was doubled in activity at day 2 of starvation and subsequently diminished to values not significantly lower than controls. In liver, mitochondrial mass (protein) was severely diminished. From analysis of marker enzyme activities, it appeared that lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, and plasma membrane were also decreased. Refeeding restored the greatest part of these losses within 5 days.