Utilization of Proline during Healing of Fractures

Abstract

SUMMER¹ has recently demonstrated that following oral administration of proline the level of serum proline was lower in children afflicted with osteogenesis imperfecta than in normal children. Since this effect was shown not to be due to urinary excretion, it seemed that the relative rate of proline disappearance from the blood system (proline ‘tolerance’) could serve as an index of connective tissue metabolism. To determine the validity of this concept, the serum proline concentration was measured by the method of Troll and Lindsey², at two intervals after an intravenous injection of proline into normal rabbits and into rabbits with healing fractures.