Endogenous nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) inhibitor asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is a cardiovascular risk factor. We tested the hypothesis that L-citrulline may ameliorate the endothelial function altered by ADMA in porcine coronary artery (PCA). Myograph study for vasorelaxation, electrochemical measurement for NO, RT-PCR, and Western blot analysis for expression of eNOS, argininosuccinate...

Enhanced arginase-induced arginine consumption is believed to play a key role in the pathogenesis of sickle cell disease-induced end organ failure. Enhancement of arginine availability with L-arginine supplementation exhibited less consistent results; however, L-citrulline, the precursor of L-arginine, may be a promising alternative. In this study, we determined the effects of L-citrulline comp...

BACKGROUND Impaired microcirculation during endotoxemia correlates with a disturbed arginine-nitric oxide (NO) metabolism and is associated with deteriorating organ function. Improving the organ perfusion in endotoxemia, as often seen in patients with severe infection or systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is, therefore, an important therapeutic target. We hypothesized that supplemen...

The amino acid citrulline is poorly represented in food, except for the Cucurbitaceae family of fruits (watermelons, etc.) and sap from birch trees, which have both been used in the treatment of reproductive disorders for centuries. Recently, an interesting observation was published regarding citrulline as a promising candidate biomarker of abnormal embryogenesis. Our study was undertaken to in...

L-citrulline and L-arginine supplementation has been shown to have several beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system. Nitric oxide (NO) protects against the progression of atherosclerosis and is synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which converts L-arginine (L-Arg) into L-citrulline (L-Cit). Our previous study revealed that chronic administration of a combination of L-Cit and L- Ar...

BACKGROUND Decreased nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and increased lipid oxidation are associated with progressive endothelial dysfunction. L-Citrulline, the effective precursor of L-arginine which is essential as a substrate for endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), is effective in enhancing NO-dependent signaling. However, little is known about the efficacy of L-citrulline supplementation on lipo...

Rat peritoneal macrophages were incubated in the presence of 0.05-1.0 mM-[14C]citrulline. The synthesis of [14C]arginine from 0.1 mM-[14C]citrulline was about 300 pmol/h per 10(6) cells in macrophages from saline-injected (control) rats. Both arginine synthesis from citrulline and nitrate production (an indicator of NO generation) were increased about 3-fold in the cells from lipopolysaccharide...

Studies were performed on the internal anal sphincter (IAS) smooth muscle strips obtained from opossums (Didelphis virginiana). Isometric tension and L-arginine levels of the tissues were measured under basal conditions, in the presence of electrical field stimulation (EFS) and after treatment with different concentrations of arginase. For the nonadrenergic noncholinergic nerve stimulation, sho...

Kinetics of oxidation of L-citrulline (Cit) by permanganate ion in both acidic and basic media has been investigated spectrophtometrically at constant ionic strengths and at 25°C. In both media the reactions exhibited first order dependence in [permanganate] and less than unit order dependences in L-citrulline concentration. A fractional-second order dependence with respect to [H + ] and a frac...