Assessing Muscle Protein Synthesis Rates In Vivo in Humans: The Deuterated Water (2H2O) Method

Skeletal muscle tissue is in a constant state of turnover, with muscle tissue protein synthesis and breakdown rates ranging between 1% and 2% across the day in vivo in humans. Muscle tissue remodeling is largely controlled by the up- and down-regulation of muscle tissue protein synthesis rates. Research studies generally apply stable isotope-labeled amino acids to assess muscle protein synthesis rates in vivo in humans. Following labeled amino …