- Metabolic acidosis stimulates muscle protein degradation by activating the adenosine triphosphate-dependent pathway involving ubiquitin and proteasomes. Mitch, W.E., Medina, R., Grieber, S., May, R.C., England, B.K., Price, S.R., Bailey, J.L., Goldberg, A.L. J. Clin. Invest. (1994)