Arginase competitively inhibits nitric oxide synthase
(NOS) via use of the common substrate L-arginine.
Arginase II has recently reported as a novel therapeutic
target for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases
such as atherosclerosis. Here, we demonstrate that piceatannol-
3'-O-¥â-D-glucopyranoside (PG), a potent
component of stilbenes, inhibits the activity of arginase
I and II prepared from mouse liver and kidney lysates,
respectively, in a dose-dependent manner. In
human umbilical vein endothelial cells, incubation of
PG markedly blocked arginase activity and increased
NOx production, as measured by Griess assay. The PG
effect was associated with increase of eNOS dimer ratio,
although the protein levels of arginase II or eNOS
were not changed. Furthermore, isolated mice aortic
rings treated with PG showed inhibited arginase activity
that resulted in increased nitric oxide (NO) production
upto 78%, as measured using 4-amino-5-methylamino-
2',7'-difluorescein (DAF-FM) and a decreased
superoxide anions up to 63%, as measured using dihydroethidine
(DHE) in the intact endothelium. PG
showed IC50 value of 11.22 ¥ìM and 11.06 ¥ìM against arginase
I and II, respectively. PG as an arginase inhibitor,
therefore, represents a novel molecule for the
therapy of cardiovascular diseases derived from endothelial
dysfunction and may be used for the design of
pharmaceutical compounds. |