ARGININE-ARGINASE RELATIONSHIP IN REGENERATION, REPAIR AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEOPLASMS

¹ Department of Oral Pathology, University of California, College of Dentistry, San Francisco, Cal.

1. Arginine plays an important role in the development of the anlage of embryonic tissues. (87.4% of protamine of sperm is arginine.)

2. There is an arginine-nucleic acid relationship that may remain latent until stimulated into activity, resulting in autonomous growth or regenerative process.

3. Arginase, produced primarily in the liver, exists in the tissues in combination with arginine. The normal metabolic anabolism is regulated by this combine, by altering the balance between the enzyme and its substrate.

4. Arginine, combining with nuclear material of an injured cell supplies the same nuclear conditions that cause the autonomous growth of the fertilized ovum.

5. Hepatic insufficiency prevents the inhibition of arginine stimulation.

6. Arginase-arginine relationship is under the influence of the hormonal system of the body.

7. Arginine, necessary for local regenerative processes, must be furnished, at least in part, by food intake; therefore, nutritional disturbances may also be considered a source of enzyme-substrate unbalance.