Monitoring of L-Arginine and Endogenous Dimethylarginines in Survivor Septic Patients - A Pilot Study

Balázs Németh; István Kiss; Iván Péter; Zénó Ajtay; Ádám Németh; László Márk; Attila Csorba; Tamás Kőszegi; Diána Mühl; Péter Kustán

Monitoring of L-Arginine and Endogenous Dimethylarginines in Survivor Septic Patients - A Pilot Study

In Vivo. 2016;30(5):663-9.

Authors

Balázs Németh¹, István Kiss², Iván Péter³, Zénó Ajtay⁴, Ádám Németh⁵, László Márk⁶, Attila Csorba⁷, Tamás Kőszegi⁸, Diána Mühl⁹, Péter Kustán¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary Zsigmondy Vilmos SPA Hospital, Harkány, Hungary balazs.nemeth@aok.pte.hu.
² Department of Public Health Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
³ Zsigmondy Vilmos SPA Hospital, Harkány, Hungary.
⁴ Zsigmondy Vilmos SPA Hospital, Harkány, Hungary Heart Institute, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
⁵ Heart Institute, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
⁶ Department of Biochemistry and Medical Chemistry, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
⁷ Department of Biochemistry and Medical Chemistry, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
⁸ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary János Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
⁹ Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
¹⁰ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary János Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.

PMID: 27566088

Abstract

Background/aim: Nitric oxide (NO) pathway plays a major role in the development and advancement of inflammation. We aimed to design a study and investigate its feasibility to show the changes of L-arginine, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), which are important regulators of the NO pathway.

Patients and methods: Concentrations of L-arginine, ADMA and SDMA were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Seventeen septic survival patients were enrolled and blood samples were obtained on the first, third and fifth day after the diagnosis of sepsis. Sixteen non-septic matched controls were recruited.

Results: ADMA levels on admission correlated well with sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score. During the follow-up, L-arginine/ADMA ratio increased significantly from day 1 to day 3 (p=0.005), then decreased from day 3 to day 5 (p=0.023).

Conclusion: This study design seems feasible to investigate changes of L-Arginine, ADMA and SDMA in sepsis survival patients.

Keywords: L-arginine; Sepsis; asymmetric dimethylarginine; nitric oxide; survival.

MeSH terms

Aged
Arginine / analogs & derivatives*
Arginine / blood*
Chromatography, Liquid
Female
Humans
Inflammation / blood
Inflammation / pathology
Male
Metabolic Networks and Pathways
Middle Aged
Nitric Oxide / blood
Sepsis / blood*
Sepsis / pathology
Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Substances

Nitric Oxide
symmetric dimethylarginine
N,N-dimethylarginine
Arginine