[Quantitative changes in glucocorticoid binding capacity of blood plasma, liver and small intestine mucosa following consumption of various dietary proteins].

Studies on corticosteroid binding proteins in blood plasma, cytoplasm, and nuclei of cells from liver and mucosa of the small intestine of growing rats were carried out under the influence of different protein diets. Increasing protein quality induced higher growth rates and an increase of the glucocorticoid binding capacity as well as the concentration of total and free corticosterone in blood plasma and increasing contents of specific corticosteroid binding receptors in the cytoplasm and nuclei of cells from liver and mucosa of the small intestine. In the cytoplasm the bound fraction takes only 5 to 10% of the total hormone concentration, compared to 80 to 90% in blood plasma. These findings suggest that the changes in the concentration of specific hormone binding proteins may be a general principle of the effect of dietary protein in the regulation of metabolism.