Renal arginine synthesis is a major endogenous source of arginine. Argininosuccinate lyase occurs almost exclusively in kidney cortex. In studies with isolated renal cortical tubules, we observed rapid rates of arginine synthesis from citrulline, provided a source of the N atom of the guanidino group of arginine was supplied. Aspartate, glutamate, or glutamine were effective, whereas glycine, alanine, serine, or NH4Cl were ineffective as this second substrate. Arginine synthesis as a function of citrulline concentration was determined and was found to be highly sensitive to citrulline concentrations in the physiological range (60 microM), suggesting that renal arginine synthesis in vivo could be regulated by circulating citrulline levels. Therefore, arginine synthesis by the kidney was investigated in vivo by measuring the net flux of citrulline and arginine in saline-infused (control group) and citrulline-infused rats. In normal animals, uptake of citrulline was 60.5 +/- 20.7 nmol.min-1.100 g body wt-1, and a similar arginine release was observed. Citrulline infusion that increased circulating citrulline levels fourfold resulted in a similar increase in renal citrulline uptake (224 +/- 33 nmol.min-1.100 g-1) and a similar increase in renal production of arginine. The results suggest that the availability of citrulline is a limiting factor for renal arginine synthesis in rats.

Agonist-induced smooth muscle relaxation occurs following an increase in intracellular concentrations of cGMP or cAMP. However, the role of protein kinase G (PKG) and/or protein kinase A (PKA) in cGMP- or cAMP-mediated pulmonary vasodilation is not clearly elucidated. In this study, we examined the relaxation responses of isolated pulmonary arteries of lambs (age = 10 +/- 1 days), preconstricted with endothelin-1, to increasing concentrations of 8-bromo-cGMP (8-BrcGMP) or 8-BrcAMP (cell-permeable analogs), in the presence or absence of Rp-8-beta-phenyl-1,N(2)-etheno-bromoguanosine cyclic monosphordthioate (Rp-8-PET-BrcGMPS) or KT-5720, selective inhibitors of PKG and PKA, respectively. When examined for specificity, Rp-8-Br-PET-cGMPS abolished PKG, but not PKA, activity in pulmonary arterial extracts, whereas KT-5720 inhibited PKA activity only. 8-BrcGMP-induced relaxation was inhibited by the PKG inhibitor only, whereas 8-BrcAMP-induced relaxation was inhibited by both inhibitors. A nearly fourfold higher concentration of cAMP than cGMP was required to relax arteries by 50% and to activate PKG by 50%. Our results demonstrate that relaxation of pulmonary arteries is more sensitive to cGMP than cAMP and that PKG plays an important role in both cGMP- and cAMP-mediated relaxation.

In a variety of systemic blood vessels, protein kinase G (PKG) plays a critical role in mediating relaxation induced by agents that elevate cGMP, such as nitric oxide. The role of PKG in nitric oxide- and cGMP-induced relaxation is less certain in the pulmonary circulation. In the present study, we examined the effects of inhibitors of PKG on the responses of isolated fourth-generation pulmonary veins of newborn lambs (10 +/- 1 days of age) to nitric oxide and cGMP. In vessels preconstricted with endothelin-1, nitric oxide and 8-bromo-cGMP (a cell-membrane-permeable cGMP analog) induced concentration-dependent relaxation. The relaxation was significantly attenuated by beta-phenyl-1, N(2)-etheno-8-bromoguanosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphorothionate (Rp-8-Br-PET-cGMPS; a PKG inhibitor) and N-[2-(methylamino)ethyl]5-isoquinolinesulfonamide [H-8; an inhibitor of PKG and protein kinase A (PKA)] but was not affected by KT-5720 (a PKA inhibitor). Biochemical study showed that PKG activity in newborn ovine pulmonary veins was inhibited by 8-Br-PET-cGMPS and H-8 but not by KT-5720. PKA activity was not affected by 8-Br-PET-cGMPS but was inhibited by H-8 and KT-5720. These results suggest that PKG is involved in relaxation of pulmonary veins of newborn lambs induced by nitric oxide and cGMP.