The arginine–arginase balance in asthma and lung inflammation

Asthma, a complex chronic inflammatory pulmonary disorder, is on the rise despite intense ongoing research underscoring the need for new scientific inquiry. Using global microarray analysis, we have recently uncovered that asthmatic responses involve metabolism of arginine by arginase. We found that the cationic amino acid transporter (CAT)2, arginase I, and arginase II were particularly prominent among the allergen-induced gene transcripts. These genes are key regulators of critical processes associated with asthma including airway tone, cell hyperplasia and collagen deposition, respectively. Furthermore, systemic arginine levels and arginine metabolism via nitric oxide synthase (NOS) can have profound effect on lung inflammation. This review focuses on the current body of knowledge on l-arginine metabolism in asthma and lung inflammation.