Asymmetric Dimethylarginine and Kidney Disease—Marker or Mediator?

[摘要] Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is a naturally occurring amino acid that circulates in blood and is excreted in urine (1). It is also a competitive inhibitor of all three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). ADMA competes with arginine for the binding site of NOS with an IC50 of about 10 μM depending on the prevailing concentration of arginine (2). Combine these observations and it is possible to make the statement that ADMA is an endogenous inhibitor of NOS. Although correct, this implies only that endogenously generated ADMA has the capacity to act as an inhibitor of NOS, and does not necessarily mean that this is either a physiologic or pathophysiologic role of ADMA.

[学科分类] 泌尿医学

[关键词] Bone marrow necrosis;Sickle cell disease;Hyperhemolysis syndrome