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Arginine in Critical Care: Preclinical Aspects

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Diet and Nutrition in Critical Care

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Abstract

Understanding the multiple biological roles of arginine and/or its metabolites is essential towards understanding the potential therapeutic use of these molecules in the critically ill patient. Arginine is a conditionally essential amino acid that through its multiple metabolic pathways can play diverse biological roles. For example, as a precursor of nitric oxide, it can play significant functions in vasodilation, hemodynamic stability, and platelet aggregation. As an amino acid, arginine is essential for normal T lymphocyte function. Arginine is also central in the detoxification of ammonia. Perhaps the most significant breakthrough in the last 10 years is the identification of arginase 1 expression in cells of the immune system – namely, myeloid cells; through regulation of arginine availability, arginase 1 serves to modulate nitric oxide production and T lymphocyte function. Pathologic expression of arginase 1 is observed in a growing number of illnesses leading to a state of arginine deficiency. Replacement of arginine during pathologic states of arginine deficiency may be beneficial under certain clinical conditions.

Disclosures/Titles

1. Chief Medical Officer, Nestlé Health Care Nutrition/Nestlé Health Science, North America

2. Adjunct Professor of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh

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Abbreviations

ADC:

Arginine decarboxylase

ADMA:

Asymmetric dimethyl arginine

AL:

Argininosuccinate lyase

AS:

Argininosuccinate synthase

DDAH:

Dimethylargininedimethylaminohydrolase

eiF2α:

Eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha

GCN2:

General control non-derepressible 2

iNOS:

Inducible nitric oxide synthase

mCAT-1 mCAT-2:

Cationic amino acid transport systems

NO:

Nitric oxide

NOS:

Nitric oxide synthase

OTC:

Ornithine transcarbomoylase

μM:

Micromoles/liter

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nestle Health Care Nutrition, 12 Vreeland Road, Livingston, NJ, 07932, USA

    Juan B. Ochoa Gautier

Authors
  1. Juan B. Ochoa Gautier
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Juan B. Ochoa Gautier .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Free London Hospitals, Barnet General Hospital, London, UK

    Rajkumar Rajendram

  2. Division of Diabetes & Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK

    Rajkumar Rajendram

  3. King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Rajkumar Rajendram

  4. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Division of Diabetes & Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK

    Victor R. Preedy

  5. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Science & Technology, University of Westminster, London, UK

    Vinood B. Patel

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Ochoa Gautier, J.B. (2015). Arginine in Critical Care: Preclinical Aspects. In: Rajendram, R., Preedy, V.R., Patel, V.B. (eds) Diet and Nutrition in Critical Care. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7836-2_160

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7836-2_160

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7837-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7836-2

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