title: Arginase as a Critical Prooxidant Mediator in the Binomial Endothelial Dysfunction-Atherosclerosis.
abstract: Arginase is a metalloenzyme which hydrolyzes L-arginine to L-ornithine and urea. Since its discovery, in the early 1900s, this enzyme has gained increasing attention, as literature reports have progressively pointed to its critical participation in regulating nitric oxide bioavailability. Indeed, accumulating evidence in the following years would picture arginase as a key player in vascular health. Recent studies have highlighted the arginase regulatory role in the progression of atherosclerosis, the latter an essentially prooxidant state. Apart from the fact that arginase has been proven to impair different metabolic pathways, and also as a consequence of this, the repercussions of the actions of such enzyme go further than first thought. In fact, such metalloenzyme exhibits direct implications in multiple cardiometabolic diseases, among which are hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia. Considering the epidemiological repercussions of these clinical conditions, arginase is currently seen under the spotlights of the search for developing specific inhibitors, in order to mitigate its deleterious effects. That said, the present review focuses on the role of arginase in endothelial function and its participation in the establishment of atherosclerotic lesions, discussing the main regulatory mechanisms of the enzyme, also highlighting the potential development of pharmacological strategies in related cardiovascular diseases.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Reatividade Cardiovascular, Setor de Fisiologia e Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (ICBS), Universidade Federal de Alagoas (UFAL), Avenida Lourival Melo Mota s/n, Cidade Universitária, 57072-900 Maceió, AL, Brazil ; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em NanoBiofarmacêutica (N-BIOFAR), Avenida Antônio Carlos s/n, Pampulha, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil ; Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, 13125 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Luiza A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rabelo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Reatividade Cardiovascular, Setor de Fisiologia e Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (ICBS), Universidade Federal de Alagoas (UFAL), Avenida Lourival Melo Mota s/n, Cidade Universitária, 57072-900 Maceió, AL, Brazil ; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em NanoBiofarmacêutica (N-BIOFAR), Avenida Antônio Carlos s/n, Pampulha, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernanda O
authors.initials: FO
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Reatividade Cardiovascular, Setor de Fisiologia e Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (ICBS), Universidade Federal de Alagoas (UFAL), Avenida Lourival Melo Mota s/n, Cidade Universitária, 57072-900 Maceió, AL, Brazil ; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em NanoBiofarmacêutica (N-BIOFAR), Avenida Antônio Carlos s/n, Pampulha, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil ; Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, 13125 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Valéria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nunes-Souza
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Reatividade Cardiovascular, Setor de Fisiologia e Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (ICBS), Universidade Federal de Alagoas (UFAL), Avenida Lourival Melo Mota s/n, Cidade Universitária, 57072-900 Maceió, AL, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lucas José Sá
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: da Fonseca
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química e Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Alagoas (UFAL), Avenida Lourival Melo Mota s/n, Cidade Universitária, 57072-900 Maceió, AL, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marília O F
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Goulart
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001119:Arginase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D009569:Nitric Oxide; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; D001119:Arginase