Abstract
IN a classical set of experiments, Bollman, Mann and Magath1 demonstrated that “the production of urea in the body of the dog is entirely dependent on the presence of the liver, since urea formation ceases completely as soon as the liver is removed”. Standard text-books of physiology and biochemistry have interpreted the above experiments as demonstrating that urea formation occurs exclusively in the liver. However, an alternative interpretation is possible, namely, that normal liver function is necessary for normal extra-hepatic metabolism, and such extra-hepatic metabolism may include urea synthesis. In fact, it has been shown that perfused brain requires factors elaborated or released by the liver to maintain normal metabolism2.
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References
Bollman, J. L., Mann, F. C., and Magath, T. B., Amer. J. Physiol., 69, 371 (1924).
Geiger, A., Magnes, J., Taylor, R. M., and Veralli, M., Amer. J. Physiol., 177, 138 (1954). Geiger, A., and Yamasaki, S., J. Neurochem., 1, 93 (1956).
Sporn, M. B., Dingman, W., and Defalco, A., J. Neurochem. (in the press).
Krebs, H. A., and Henseleit, K., Z. physiol. Chem., 210, 33 (1932).
Sporn, M. B., Dingman, W., Delfalco, A., and Davies, R. K., J. Neurochem. (in the press).
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SPORN, M., DINGMAN, W., DEFALCO, A. et al. Formation of Urea from Arginine in the Brain of the Living Rat. Nature 183, 1520–1521 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/1831520a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1831520a0
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