BACKGROUND Plasma concentrations of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, are raised in patients with chronic vascular disease, causing increased cardiovascular risk and endothelial dysfunction, but the role of ADMA in acute inflammatory states is less well defined. METHODS AND RESULTS In a prospective longitudinal study in 67 patients with acut...

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, is a novel risk factor of cardiovascular disease. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) bear typical endothelial characteristics and are thought to contribute to neovascularization by providing new endothelial cells (ECs) after arterial injury. Many studies have shown that ADMA can induce EPC apoptosis and dysfunction, but...

OBJECTIVES We investigated the relationship between ADMA plasma levels and endothelium-dependent vasodilation in 36 never-treated essential hypertensives and in 8 normotensive healthy subjects. BACKGROUND It has been demonstrated that endothelium-dependent vasodilatation is impaired in essential hypertension. The potential contribution of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) to endothelial dysf...

Impairment of endothelium-dependent coronary vasodilatation has been reported in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The aim of our study was to evaluate whether HCM patients have increased circulating blood markers of endothelial dysfunction. We compared 29 HCM patients with sinus rhythm, including 11 with the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction (gradient > 30 mmHg), versus 29 age...

We reported impaired endothelium-derived relaxation factor/nitric oxide (EDRF/NO) responses and constitutive nitric oxide synthase (cNOS) activity in subcutaneous vessels dissected from patients with essential hypertension (n = 9) compared with normal controls (n = 10). We now test the hypothesis that the patients in this study have increased circulating levels of the cNOS inhibitor, asymmetric...

BACKGROUND Recent studies have revealed a higher rate of cardiovascular complications in primary aldosteronism (PA) compared to patients with essential hypertension (EH). Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is a marker of endothelial dysfunction that could contribute to increased cardiovascular risk in patients with PA. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare the levels of ADMA among p...

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease. Endothelial cell injury and apoptosis may promote atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. The present study investigated the potential mechanisms of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA)‑induced apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). It was demonstrated that ADMA decreased B...

Aim: Although underlying mechanisms of coronary artery ectasia (CAE) are clearly unknown, endothelial dysfunction may be responsible for the coronary ectasia. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is the principal endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase and elevated levels of ADMA is considered to be a marker of endothelial dysfunction and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Accordingl...

The enzyme dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH) metabolizes asymmetrically methylated arginine (namely L-N monomethylarginine [L-NMMA] and asymmetrical dimethylarginine [ADMA]) residues to citrulline and methylamine.1 Considerable interest has been focused on the biology of DDAH after the discovery that asymmetrically methylated arginines (in particular ADMA) are competitive inhibitor...