Pretreatment of starved rats with ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate: effects on hepatic mRNA levels and plasma concentrations of three liver-secreted proteins.

Objective: Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) displays anabolic properties at the hepatic level, but the mechanisms involved remain unclear. This study investigated in vivo the ability of OKG to modulate hepatic gene expression of three liver-secreted proteins: albumin, transthyretin, and retinol binding protein.

Methods: One hundred eighty rats were fed for 5 d with a balanced regimen enriched with OKG (5 g.