Protein degradation in liver is actively controlled by a small group of inhibitory amino acids--leucine, tyrosine (or phenylalanine), glutamine, proline, histidine, tryptophan, and methionine. Other evidence, however, suggests that one or more of the remaining 12 noninhibitory amino acids is also required for suppression of proteolysis at normal concentrations. This question was investigated in livers of fed rats perfused in the single-pass mode. The deletion of alanine at normal (1x), but not at 4x or 10x normal, plasma amino acid concentrations evoked a near-maximal acceleration of protein degradation. No other noninhibitory amino acid was effective. Because alanine alone was not directly inhibitory and its omission was not associated with a decrease in inhibitory amino acid pools, alanine was presumed to act as a coregulator in the expression of inhibitory activity. When tested alone, the inhibitory group was as effective as the complete mixture at 0.5x and 4x levels, but it lost its suppressive ability within a narrow zone of concentration centered slightly above 1x. The addition of 1x (0.48 mM) alanine completely restored the inhibition. Pyruvate and lactate could be effectively substituted, but only at concentrations 10-20 times greater than that of alanine. These, together with earlier findings, indicate the existence of a regulatory complex that recognizes specific amino acids and transmits positive and negative signals to proteolytic sites. The results also suggest that alanine can provide an important regulatory link between energy demands and protein degradation.