title: Chitosan induces different L-arginine metabolic pathways in resting and inflammatory macrophages.
abstract: Chitosan is a linear polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and deacetylated glucosamine widely used as a wound-healing accelerator in clinical and veterinary medicine. Chitosan enhances the functions of inflammatory cells such as macrophages (Mphi), inducing the production of cytokines as well as the expression of activation markers, Fc receptors and mannose receptor. In this work we studied the effects of chitosan on the arginine metabolic pathways of both resident and inflammatory (proteose-peptone elicited) rat Mphi. Our results show that low molecular weight (LMW) chitosan activated moderately both the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and arginase pathways in resident Mphi. In inflammatory Mphi treated with chitosan instead, the arginase activity was strongly enhanced. Supernatants of chitosan-stimulated Mphi enhanced the proliferation of the rat cell line C6. These findings suggest that the healing activity of chitosan could rely on the enhanced arginase activity observed in a wound-associated inflammatory milieu.
authors.affiliation: Inmunologi;a, Departamento de Bioqui;mica Cli;nica, Facultad de Ciencias Qui;micas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, 5000, Córdoba, Argentina.
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Porporatto
authors.forename: Ismael D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Bianco
authors.forename: Clelia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Riera
authors.forename: Silvia G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Correa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001119:Arginase / Q000378:metabolism; D001120:Arginine / Q000378:metabolism*; D002455:Cell Division; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002686:Chitin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D048271:Chitosan; D005260:Female; D005910:Glioma; D007249:Inflammation / Q000378:metabolism; D008262:Macrophage Activation; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000378:metabolism; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D002686:Chitin; D048271:Chitosan; D001120:Arginine; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; C496318:Nos2 protein, rat; D001119:Arginase