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Desmopressin (dDAVP) is the best characterized analogue of vasopressin, the endocrine regulator of water balance endowed with potent vasoconstrictive effects. Despite the use of dDAVP in clinical practice, ranging from the treatment of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus to bleeding disorders, much remains to be understood about the impact of the drug on endothelial phenotype. The aim of this study was, thus, to evaluate the effects of desmopressin on the viability and function of human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HLMVECs). The results obtained demonstrate that the vasopressor had no cytotoxic effect on the endothelium; similarly, no sign of endothelial activation was induced by dDAVP, indicated by the lack of effect on the expression of inflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules. Conversely, the drug significantly stimulated the production of nitric oxide (NO) and the expression of the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase, NOS2/iNOS. Since the intracellular level of cAMP also increased, we can hypothesize that NO release is consequent to the activation of the vasopressin receptor 2 (V2R)/guanylate cyclase (Gs)/cAMP axis. Given the multifaceted role of NOS2-deriving NO for many physio-pathological conditions, the meanings of these findings in HLMVECs appears intriguing and deserves to be further addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid that plays an important role in the regulation of metabolic processes associated with several pathological/physiological conditions. In the vasculature, it mainly exerts its biological functions as a substrate of two alternative pathways: the conversion to nitric oxide (NO) by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and the breakdown to urea and ornithine by arginase. To determine arginine metabolism, in the current study we propose an original radiochemical technique that allows the simultaneous monitoring of NOS and arginase activation within intact cells. Taking advantage of this method, we show here the consequences of different experimental conditions known to modulate endothelial homeostasis on arginine metabolism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Endothelial metabolism of arginine plays a key role in vascular homeostasis. While it is documented that the availability of extracellular arginine is critical for nitric oxide synthesis by eNOS, little is known about the relationships existing between arginine transport and the activity of arginase, the enzyme responsible for the production of ornithine and urea. The present study aims to characterize the role of PKC in the regulation of arginine transport and metabolism by human umbilical vein (HUVEC) and aortic (HAEC) endothelial cells. The results obtained demonstrate that the activation of PKCα by phorbol esters or thymeleatoxin causes a transient increase of arginine transport through system y+, referable to the induction of SLC7A2 mRNAs and to the increased expression of CAT2 transporters. PKCα-dependent stimulation of arginine transport requires the activation of MEK/ERK1/2 cascade, which leads to the stimulation of AP-1 and to the consequent induction of CAT2 expression. In parallel, PKCα activation also increases arginase expression and activity and promotes eNOS phosphorylation, resulting in decreased NO production. It is concluded that the activation of PKCα stimulates arginine entry in human endothelial cells and shifts the metabolism of the cationic amino acid from NO synthesis to arginase-dependent production of ornithine and urea. This metabolic deviation may contribute to the endothelial dysfunction associated with conditions of PKC overactivity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aim: Drug-eluting stents are widely used to prevent restenosis but are associated with late endothelial damage. To understand the basis for this effect, we have studied the consequences of a prolonged incubation with rapamycin on the viability and functions of endothelial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy triggered in susceptible individuals by the ingestion of gliadin-containing grains. Recent studies have demonstrated that macrophages play a key role in the pathogenesis of CD through the release of inflammatory mediators such as cytokines and nitric oxide (NO). Since arginine is the obliged substrate of iNOS (inducible nitric oxide synthase), the enzyme that produces large amount of NO, the aim of this work is to investigate arginine metabolic pathways in RAW264.7 murine macrophages after treatment with PT-gliadin (PTG) in the absence and in the presence of IFNγ. Our results demonstrate that, besides strengthening the IFNγ-dependent activation of iNOS, gliadin is also an inducer of arginase, the enzyme that transforms arginine into ornithine and urea. Gliadin treatment increases, indeed, the expression and the activity of arginase, leading to the production of polyamines through the subsequent induction of ornithine decarboxylase. This effect is strengthened by IFNγ. The activation of these pathways takes advantage of the increased availability of arginine due to a decreased system y + l -mediated efflux, likely ascribable to a reduced expression of Slc7a6 transporter. A significant induction of arginase expression is also observed in human monocytes from healthy subject upon treatment with gliadin, thus demonstrating that gluten components trigger changes in arginine metabolism in monocyte/macrophage cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Lysinuric Protein Intolerance (LPI, MIM 222700) is a recessive aminoaciduria caused by defective cationic amino acid transport in epithelial cells of intestine and kidney. SLC7A7, the gene mutated in LPI, codifies for the y+LAT1 subunit of system y+L amino acid transporter. LPI patients frequently display severe complications, such as pulmonary disease, haematological abnormalities and disorders of the immune response. The transport defect may explain only a part of the clinical aspects of the disease, while the mechanisms linking the genetic defect to the clinical features of the patients remain thus far obscure. The aim of the study is to investigate the consequences of SLC7A7 mutations on specific macrophage functions, so as to evaluate if a macrophage dysfunction may have a role in the development of pulmonary and immunological complications of LPI. The results presented 1) confirm previous data obtained in one LPI patient, demonstrating that arginine influx through system y+L is markedly compromised in LPI macrophages; 2) demonstrate that also system y+L-mediated arginine efflux is significantly lower in LPI macrophages than in normal cells and 3) demonstrate that the phagocytic activity of LPI macrophages is severely impaired. In conclusion, SLC7A7/y+LAT1 mutations lead to a defective phenotype of macrophages, supporting the pathogenetic role of these cells in the development of LPI-associated complications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Investigates the possible involvement of modifications of arginine transport in the regulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthesis. Condition for the occurrence of modulation of endothelial arginine transport by tumor necrosis factor-alpha or lipopolysaccharide.