Effect of cold and restraint on tissue non-protein sulfhydryl compounds in methionine-deficient rats.

The effect of cold and restraint on the level of non-protein sulfhydryl compounds in the liver and blood has been previously noted (l-4). Whether applied independently or together, these stresses result in a diminution of the total non-protein sulfhydryl concentration (NPSH) of the liver. Adrenalin (5) and certain anesthetics* produce an effect similar to that of cold and restraint. Grunert and Phillips (6) and Mortensen (7) have reported a marked decrease in the liver and a large increase in the blood NPSH of methionine-deficient animals. Since the levels of liver NPSH were initially low and the blood levels high, the present study was undertaken to determine if the liver NPSH would decrease still further when these deficient animals were exposed to the stress of restraint in the cold or given Adrenalin or an anesthetic agent. Contrary to expectations it was found that the liver NPSH increased in methionine-deficient rats upon exposure to cold. Adrenalin had a similar paradoxical effect.