title: Arginine glutamate improves healing of radiation-induced skin ulcers in guinea pigs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The increase in the incidence of the radiation-induced skin injury cases and the absence of standard treatments escalate the interest in finding new and effective drugs for these lesions. We studied the effect of a 40% solution of arginine glutamate on the healing of radiation-induced skin ulcers in guinea pigs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Radiation skin injury was produced on the thigh of guinea pigs by 60 Gy local X-ray irradiation. Treatment was started 6 weeks after the irradiation when ulcers had been formed. Arginine glutamate was administered by subcutaneous injections around the wound edge. Methyluracil was chosen as the comparison drug. The animals were sacrificed on day 21 after the start of treatment and the irradiated skin tissues were subjected to histological evaluation, cytokines analysis, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We have shown that arginine glutamate significantly (p < 0.05) decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the wound, restored the balance between lipid peroxidation formation and antioxidant enzymes activity and promoted cell proliferation as well as collagen synthesis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results demonstrate that arginine glutamate successfully improves the healing of radiation-induced skin ulcers. In all probability, the curative effect is associated with the interaction of arginine with nitric oxide synthase II and arginase I, but further investigations are needed to validate this.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, National Defence University of Malaysia , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Khalin
authors.forename: Ganna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kocherga
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D001119:Arginase / Q000378:metabolism; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000378:metabolism; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012867:Skin / Q000528:radiation effects; D012883:Skin Ulcer / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D014498:Uracil / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D016207:Cytokines; D004151:Dipeptides; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D014498:Uracil; C008378:6-methyluracil; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D001119:Arginase; C024362:arginine glutamate