The vascular endothelium is composed of a monolayer of specialized cells (endothelial
cells), which form the interface between the underlying smooth muscle cells from the …

A growing body of evidence indicates that, over the course of evolution of the immune
system, arginine has been selected as a node for the regulation of immune responses. An …

The arginase enzyme developed in early life forms and was maintained during evolution. As
the last step in the urea cycle, arginase cleaves l-arginine to form urea and l-ornithine. The …

The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) plays an important role for the
maintenance of cellular processes and functions in the body. However, the excessive …

Nitric oxide (NO), the smallest signalling molecule known, is produced by three isoforms of
NO synthase (NOS; EC 1.14. 13.39). They all utilize l-arginine and molecular oxygen as …

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), as a reactive oxygen species, is widely generated in many
biological systems. It has been considered as an important signaling molecule that mediates …

Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is an additional special type of adipose tissue
surrounding blood vessels. Under physiological conditions, PVAT plays a significant role in …

It has been known for more than 60 years, and suspected for over 100, that alveolar hypoxia
causes pulmonary vasoconstriction by means of mechanisms local to the lung. For the last …

Arginine metabolism has been a key catabolic and anabolic process throughout the
evolution of the immune response. Accruing evidence indicates that arginine-catabolizing …

Nitric oxide (NO·) is an important protective molecule in the vasculature, and endothelial NO·
synthase (eNOS) is responsible for most of the vascular NO· produced. A functional eNOS …