Burns results in profound muscle protein wasting in Sprague Dawley rats that is not resolved using the lipolysis inhibitor, acipimox

Major burns result in the rapid and profound accumulation of lipid in peripheral tissues, but its impact on muscle metabolic function remains unclear. Previous reports have shown that lipid oversupply compromises processes essential for maintaining muscle protein balance. Therefore, we hypothesize that burn-induced lipid accumulation contributes to the loss of muscle mass during thermal injury. To investigate this further, 48 male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to undergo either a 60% total body surface area burn or a sham procedure. To examine the effect of burn-induced lipid accumulation, animals were further divided into two groups: those that received acipimox (50 mg/kg body weight) daily for 7 days, a lipolysis inhibitor that depletes intramuscular lipids, and those that received vehicle (PBS) daily. Throughout the study, animals were provided with deuterated water to enable the determination of muscle protein kinetics.