Arginase activity in epidermis following ultraviolet exposure.

Since the discovery of the enzyme arginase in extracts of mammalian liver , many investigators have reported the presence of arginase activtiy in many other tissues and various neoplastic tissues. In 1948 , Mardashev, Semina and Van Scott demonstrated, independently , that the arginase activity in the skin was located predominantly in the epidermis. Enzyme activity was also found to be significantly higher in the rapidly growing neoplastic tissue than in normal tissue . Since ultraviolet light is a known carcinogen , it was attempted, in the present study, to observe the initial effects of carcinogenic ultraviolet light to the arginase activity in the epidermis and liver .