EK 1001 Bio: growth hormone question

[koogles]

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This is a passage-based question in EK 1001 Bio lecture 5, it has a table that goes with it, if anyone has this can they help me understand? I'm not entirely getting their explanation in the back of the book:/

The question is: Growth hormone inhibits the breakdown of protein. When the blood concentration of growth hormone is elevated, which of the following is expected to occur?
I thought it would be a decrease in the rate of transcription, which correlates to a decrease in the amount of protein produced. However, the answer is "an increase in the consumption of fat" and their explanation is that none of the other choices fit.

Thanks in advance🙂

 

[spyderracing32]

What are the other choices?

Why would a decreased rate of transcription correlate to inhibition of breakdown a protein? If you are inhibiting the breakdown of protein (used for neoglucogenesis in the liver), that energy has to come from somewhere else (fat). I tend to think about these things (GH/anabolics) in terms of Barry Bonds. Why do people abuse hGH? To get jacked (I also happen to know it reduces levels of fat, but that's solely because I'm a gym rat)! Thinking about it in that way automatically leads one to dismiss decreased rate of transcription as an effect (in fact I would think it would be the opposite).

I think you're trying to think about this in terms of homeostasis, but if you think about GH's role in homeostasis as preventing the breakdown of protein in order to push the body in a direction of more intact protein, then decreasing the rate of transcription would tend to counteract this effect and leave you at your starting point (where you needed the GH in the first place).

 

[koogles]

Thanks a lot, that really helped🙂