l-Arginine is a Radioprotector for Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells

Abstract

l-Arginine is shown to protect hematopoietic progenitor (32D cl 3) cells from death due to exposure to γ radiation (137Cs). Some of the other intermediates in the urea cycle, namely ornithine and citrulline, plus urea itself, were not found to have any significant impact on cell survival after irradiation. Intriguingly, supplementation of irradiated cells with l-arginine results in decreased production of peroxynitrite, suggesting that suppression of superoxide generation by nitric oxide synthase in one or more microenvironments is an important factor in the observed radioprotection. The absence of any radioprotective effect of l-arginine in cells at 3% oxygen also confirms the involvement of one or more oxygen-derived species. Knockdown experiments with nitric oxide synthase (NOS) siRNAs in cells and NOS knockout animals confirm that the observed radioprotection is associated with nNOS (NOS-1). l-Arginine also ameliorates the transient inhibition of the electron-transport chain complex I that occurs within 30 min of completing the dose (10 Gy) and that appears to be a functional marker for postirradiation mitochondrial oxidant production.

Autophagy confers DNA damage repair pathways to protect the hematopoietic system from nuclear radiation injury

“…Ferulic acid improves hematopoietic cell recovery in whole-body gamma irradiated mice 28 . L-arginine improves radioprotection for hematopoietic progenitor cells 29 . CpG-oligodeoxynucleotide, a synthetic analog of bacterial DNA, minimizes the bone marrow damage induced by total body irradiation 30 .…”

Mechanisms of Radiation Resistance in Deinococcus radiodurans R1 Revealed by the Reconstruction of Gene Regulatory Network Using Bayesian Network Approach

“…Some mechanism has been proved to be radiation-resistant in other organisms. For example, arginine could protect hematopoietic progenitor cells against ionizing radiation in mammalian [21]. The existences of nodes involve different mechanisms (Table S1) suggest that different mechanisms may act in concert under the radiation stress.…”

Arginine Metabolism and Its Potential in Treatment of Colorectal Cancer

“…L-arginine can increase the expansion of small intestinal stem cells (ISCS) by targeting rapamycin complex1 and inhibiting Wnt2B secretion in small intestinal (SI) organoid models. In addition, L-arginine therapy can protect the intestinal tract from injury ( Pearce et al, 2012 ). Zhang et al found that exogenous L-arginine could promote the proliferation and intestinal epithelial renewal of ISCS, and protect the gut from the injury induced by TNF-α and 5-FU in mice ( Hou et al, 2020 ).…”