Asymmetric Dimethylarginine (ADMA) and Symmetric Dimethylarginine (SDMA) Concentrations in Patients with Obesity and the Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

Abstract

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) are endogenous inhibitors of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, and play a critical role in the process of endothelial dysfunction, and are considered markers of oxidative stress. The aim of the present study was to explore relationships between ADMA and/or SDMA and the occurrence of OSA in obese patients as well as the effect of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene polymorphism, which may modify the influence of ADMA or SDMA on NO production. A total of 518 unrelated obese subjects were included in this study. Body weight, height and blood pressure were measured and data on self-reported smoking status were collected. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was assessed by the apnea hypopnea index (AHI). Blood samples were collected to measure serum concentrations of glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine, HbA1c (%), folic acid, vitamin B12, C-reactive protein (CRP), aspartate aminotransferase (ASP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and IL-6 by routine methods. The NOS3 gene G894T and 4a/4b polymorphisms were detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. ADMA, SDMA and arginine concentrations were assessed simultaneously using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method. Adjusted multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a significant association between the occurrence of OSA and high serum ADMA levels, BMI above 40, age > 43 years, hypertension and male sex. Heterozygotes for the G894T eNOS polymorphism have the lowest serum concentrations of ADMA and SDMA, while no effect of the 4a/4b variants was observed. The results indicate that OSA in obese individuals can coexist with high ADMA levels, which appear as a potential OSA predictor.

Effects of a herbal formulation, KGC3P, and its individual component, nepetin, on coal fly dust-induced airway inflammation

“…Asymmetrical dimethyl arginine (ADMA) and symmetric dimethyl arginie (SDMA) are involved in the inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Basically they are the structural analogues of l -arginine, which competitively regress NO synthase, ultimately leading to decreased basal NO production with the fact that basal NO production is essential for cellular proliferation, vasodilation and migration 18 – 20 . Therefore we had checked the effects of the KG3P treatment on the serum ADMA and SDMA levels.…”

Serum symmetric dimethylarginine shows a relatively consistent long-term concentration in healthy dogs with a significant effect of increased body fat percentage

“…In humans, various studies explored the relationship between SDMA and obesity [ 31 – 35 ]. However, their results are contradictory showing either no [ 34 ], a positive [ 31 , 33 ], or a negative effect [ 32 , 35 ] of obesity on SDMA.…”

Arginine and Endothelial Function

“…Plasma levels of ADMA increase during hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, and atherosclerosis [ 95 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 , 169 , 170 ]. Hence, despite the range of endogenous arginine levels, they could still be sufficient to guarantee eNOS saturation, and so the arginine/ADMA ratio would be reduced, resulting in a net inhibition of NO production [ 171 , 172 , 173 ].…”