The endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitorsl-N ω-methylarginine andl-N ω, N ω-
dimethylarginine are catabolized by the enzyme dimethylargininase. Dimethylargininase-1
from bovine brain contains one tightly bound Zn (II) coordinated by two cysteine sulfur and
two lighter ligands. Activity measurements showed that only the apo-enzyme is active and
that the holo-enzyme is activated by zinc removal. In this work, the effect of NO on
dimethylargininase-1 structure and its activity was investigated using 2-(N, N …