A B S T R A C T Chronic renal failure in rats leads to changes in hepatic protein synthesis and albumin metabolism at both the cellular and molecular level. In rats with chronic uremia (blood urea nitrogen > 45 mg/100 ml 1 mo after surgical reduction in renal mass), cell-free protein synthesis is reduced 30-40% in liver membrane-bound polyribosomes. Albumin synthesis by membrane-bound polysomes in uremia is reduced even more than the reduction in total protein synthesis. Activity of free polysomes remains normal. There is also intracellular accumulation of albumin in liver of uremic rats and a concomitant decrease in serum albumin. In normal liver, most intracellular albumin is located in the microsomal fraction, whereas in liver from uremic animals the excess albumin is found in the free cytosol fraction. These results can be explained either by a defect in synthesis of albumin by membrane-bound polysomes with release of newly synthesized albumin into the cytosol or by a reduced ability of polysomes synthesizing albumin to associate with the membrane fraction in rats with chronic renal failure.

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