Effect of amino acids on the plasma concentration and urinary excretion ofuric acid and uridine

To determine the effect of amino acids on the plasma level and urinary excr etion of uric acid and uridine, 200 mL 12% amino acid solution, and 2 weeks later, 100 mL physiological saline solution containing glucagon (1.2 mu g/ kg weight), was infused into five healthy men. Both increased the urinary e xcretion of uric acid and the concentration of glucagon, insulin, and gluco se in plasma and pyruvic acid in blood, whereas they decreased the concentr ation of uridine and inorganic phosphate in plasma. However, neither the am ino acid infusion nor glucagon infusion affected the concentration of purin e bases (hypoxanthine, xanthine, and uric acid), cyclic adenosine monophosp hate (cAMP) in plasma, or lactic acid in blood or the urinary excretion of oxypurines (hypoxanthine and xanthine), uridine, or sodium. These results s uggest that glucagon may have an important role in the amino acid-induced i ncrease in urinary excretion of uric acid and decrease in plasma uridine. C opyright (C) 1999 by W.B. Saunders Company.