Restriction of dietary methyl donors limits methionine availability and affects the partitioning of dietary methionine for creatine and phosphatidylcholine synthesis in the neonatal piglet

Methionine is required for protein synthesis and provides a methyl group for>50 critical transmethylation reactions including creatine and phosphatidylcholine synthesis as well as DNA and protein methylation. However, the availability of methionine depends on dietary sources as well as remethylation of demethylated methionine (ie. homocysteine) by the dietary methyl donors folate and choline (via betaine). By restricting dietary methyl supply, we aimed to determine the extent that dietary methyl donors contribute to methionine availability for protein synthesis and transmethylation reactions in neonatal piglets.
Source: The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Source Type: research