Cancer Cell International · 3 authors, 3 centres
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This narrative review describes how L-arginine and its methylated derivatives can influence cell proliferation and death in preclinical models. It central finding is that these compounds have diverse biological activities, including both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on tumour growth, mediated partly through formaldehyde interaction.
This narrative review summarizes preclinical data from cell culture and transplantable mouse tumour experiments on L-arginine and its methylated derivatives. It reports that L-arginine deprivation can enhance apoptosis, while L-arginine supplementation can stimulate proliferation, with the effect dependent on optical configuration. Specific methylated derivatives like NG-hydroxymethyl-L-arginines were shown to cause apoptosis in cell cultures and inhibit mouse tumour growth. The authors propose a mechanism where the guanidine group of arginine reacts with endogenous formaldehyde, forming hydroxymethylated derivatives that may generate formaldehyde to influence cell fate. The review concludes that while arginine is essential for tumour cell growth, manipulating its levels or using its derivatives represents a therapeutic possibility warranting further study.
