Arginine consumption by the intestinal parasite Giardia intestinalis reduces proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells.

ABSTRACT: In the field of infectious diseases the multifaceted amino acid arginine has reached special attention as substrate for the hosts production of the antimicrobial agent nitric oxide (NO). A variety of infectious organisms interfere with this part of the host immune response by reducing the availability of arginine. This prompted us to further investigate additional roles of arginine during pathogen infections. As a model we used the intestinal parasite Giardia intestinalis that actively consumes arginine as main energy source and secretes an arginine-consuming enzyme, arginine deiminase (ADI). Reduced intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) proliferation is a common theme during bacterial and viral intestinal infections, but it has never been connected to arginine-consumption. Our specific questio

SUBMITTER: Stadelmann B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3446895 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature