Arginase, which hydrolyzes arginine to urea and ornithine, is a precursor for the synthesis of polyamines and proline, which is abundant in collagen. The supply of proline can be a crucial factor in the process of lung fibrosis. We investigated the induction of arginine metabolic enzymes in bleomycin-induced mouse lung fibrosis. Histological studies and quantification of lung hydroxyproline sho...

BACKGROUND Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumour of women around the world. As a key enzyme of the urea cycle, arginase leads to the formation of urea and ornithine from L-arginine. In the patients with several different cancers, arginase has been found to be higher and reported to be a useful biological marker. AIMS The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of rosuvasta...

Arginase II has recently reported as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. In the course of screening plants used in natural medicines as arginase II inhibitory activity, a methanol extract of Scutellaria indica showed significant inhibitory effect. Further fractionation and repeated column chromatography led to the isolation of a new f...

Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid that plays a critical role in several metabolic pathways. The best known of these is as the immediate precursor of urea in the liver and to a lesser extent in the intestine.1 The enzyme responsible for the cleavage of arginine to produce urea is arginase, which is the only enzyme in the urea cycle that comes in two forms, arginase I, a cytosolic enzyme, a...

The presence of a protein-like inhibitor of DNA synthesis in liver extract has been reported earlier. This inhibi tor is different from liver arginase, which is known as a potent growth inhibitor of tissue culture cells. Some evidence is also presented that the inhibition is not due to the destruction of essential nutrients in the medium but to the inhibitor's direct effect on the cells. Introd...

Advanced age is one of the risk factors for vascular diseases that are mainly caused by impaired nitric oxide (NO) production. It has been demonstrated that endothelial arginase constrains the activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and limits NO generation. Hence, arginase inhibition is suggested to be vasoprotective in aging. In this study, we examined the effects of intravenous ...

It has been known for 20 years that the production of nitric oxide (NO) by the NO synthase (NOS) isozymes is important in the maintenance of airways tone. Over the past decade, however, it has become increasingly apparent that competition between the NOS and arginase pathways for L-arginine, limits NO production. Imbalances between these pathways have been implicated in the airways hyperrespons...

Decreased endothelial nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability as it relates to endothelial dysfunction plays an important role in various cardiovascular disorders, including athero-sclerosis. Recent research has provided evidence that endothelial dysfunction in atherosclerosis is not primarily caused by decreased endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) gene expression, but rather deregulation of eNOS enzymati...

Thyroxine (T4)-prolactin interactions on hepatic arginase and ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) as well as hind legs, tail, digestive tract and median eminence were investigated in tadpoles, Rana catesbeiana. Prolactin completely blocked T4-induced tail resorption, but failed to suppress hind-leg growth, shortening of digestive tract and promotion by T4 of the median eminence development. Prolac...