Guanidinoacetate Is More Effective than Creatine at Enhancing Tissue Creatine Stores while Consequently Limiting Methionine Availability in Yucatan Miniature Pigs

Creatine (Cr) is an important high-energy phosphate buffer in tissues with a high energy demand such as muscle and brain and is consequently a highly consumed nutritional supplement. Creatine is synthesized via the S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) dependent methylation of guanidinoacetate (GAA) which is not regulated by a feedback mechanism. The first objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of GAA at increasing tissue Cr stores. Because SAM is required for other methylation reactions, we also wanted to determine whether an increased creatine synthesis would lead to a lower availability of methyl groups for other methylated products. Three month-old pigs (n = 18) were fed control, GAA- or Cr-supplemented diets twice daily. On day 18 or 19, anesthesia was induced 1–3 hours post feeding and a bolus of [methyl-(3)H]methionine was intravenously infused. After 30 minutes, the liver was analyzed for methyl-(3)H incorporation into protein, Cr, phosphatidylcholine (PC) and DNA. Although both Cr and GAA led to higher hepatic Cr concentration, only supplementation with GAA led to higher levels of muscle Cr (P < 0.05). Only GAA supplementation resulted in lower methyl-(3)H incorporation into PC and protein as well as lower hepatic SAM concentration compared to the controls, suggesting that Cr synthesis resulted in a limited methyl supply for PC and protein synthesis (P < 0.05). Although GAA is more effective than Cr at supporting muscle Cr accretion, further research should be conducted into the long term consequences of a limited methyl supply and its effects on protein and PC homeostasis.