SUMMARY Cardiac hypertrophy was induced in rats by daily injections of L-thyroxine (1.0 mg/kg).Regression from hypertrophy was studied 4 days after discontinuing thyroxine. Isolated, Langendorffperfused hearts were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer, glucose, insulin, and amino acids. To measure protein synthesis, left ventricular tissue was assayed for incorporation of tritiated phenylalanine into protein. Indices of rates of protein degradation were obtained by measuring the release of cold phenylalanine after blocking protein synthesis with cycloheximide. After 3 days of thyroxine (when cardiac growth was maximally increased), the rate of protein synthesis increased by 22% (P < 0.001). After 1 week, synthesis was 8% greater than control (P < 0.05), and by 2 weeks (when hypertrophy was stable and the rate of cardiac growth was similar to controls), synthesis had returned to control levels. In hearts regressing from hypertrophy, synthesis was reduced to 68% of control (P < 0.001). The rate of protein degradation was decreased by 12% ( P < 0.05) after 3 days of thyroxine, but was not different from control at 1 or 2 weeks. During regression, degradation was 12% below control (P < 0.05). Changes in the release of several amino acids that are synthesized or metabolized in heart (e.g., alanine, glycine, serine) were different from changes in phenylalanine release. In conclusion thyroxine-induced cardiac hypertrophy and regression are accompanied by changes in protein synthesis and degradation, and amino acid metabolism. The predominant change in hypertrophy is increased protein synthesis with a minor contribution from reduced degradation. Regression of hypertrophy is accompanied by decreased synthesis, not increased degradation.THEORETICALLY, cardiac hypertrophy may occur as a consequence of increased protein synthesis, reduced protein degradation, or both. Similarly, a decrease in heart size, as in regression of hypertrophy, might be brought about by accelerated protein degradation, a decreased rate of synthesis, or both.The relative importance of these factors is defined imprecisely. There is a general agreement that protein synthesis is accelerated during the development of hypertrophy, 1 " 5 but reports differ regarding whether rates of degradation are retarded 5 or not. 23 The type and magnitude of changes that occur may depend on the nature, intensity, and duration of the stress imposed on the heart, and on whether or not the hypertrophic process is accompanied by cellular damage and/or repair.To clarify the roles of altered synthesis and degradation of cardiac protein in one experimental model of hypertrophy and regression, we have measured their rates in vitro following induction and Received January 13, 1978; accepted for publication July 12, 1978. cessation of a well-defined stimulus to hypertrophy-daily injections of L-thyroxine in rats. The regimen employed produces rapid growth of the heart (over and above that observed in age-matched controls), predominantly involving myocardial cells and without...