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Low plasma concentrations of L-homoarginine are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events, while homoarginine supplementation is protective in animal models of metabolic syndrome and stroke. Catabolism of homoarginine is still poorly understood. Based on the recent findings from a Genome Wide Association Study we hypothesized that homoarginine can be metabolized by alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase 2 (AGXT2). We purified human AGXT2 from tissues of AGXT2 transgenic mice and demonstrated its ability to metabolize homoarginine to 6-guanidino-2-oxocaproic acid (GOCA). After incubation of HepG2 cells overexpressing AGXT2 with isotope-labeled homoarginine-d4 we were able to detect labeled GOCA in the medium. We injected wild type mice with labeled homoarginine and detected labeled GOCA in the plasma. We found that AGXT2 knockout (KO) mice have higher homoarginine and lower GOCA plasma levels as compared to wild type mice, while the reverse was true for AGXT2 transgenic (Tg) mice. In summary, we experimentally proved the presence of a new pathway of homoarginine catabolism - its transamination by AGXT2 with formation of GOCA and demonstrated that endogenous AGXT2 is required for maintenance of homoarginine levels in mice. Our findings may lead to development of novel therapeutic approaches for cardiovascular pathologies associated with homoarginine deficiency.

Homoarginine (hArg) is a non-essential amino acid that was identified as a risk marker for cardiovascular disease. Several analytical methods have been described for the quantification of hArg in biological samples. The aim of this study was to compare a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) approach with a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Determination of hArg concentrations in ELISA calibration standards measured by both methods revealed a correlation coefficient r (2) of 0.99, for LC-MS/MS calibrators r (2) was 0.997. However, linear regression analysis between the two assays for hArg concentrations in human plasma samples revealed a correlation coefficient r (2) of 0.78. Plasma concentrations obtained from LC-MS/MS are on average 29 % higher than those by ELISA. We investigated the hArg-isobaric N (ε)-trimethyllysine as potential source for the higher observed values, but evaluation of mass spectra indicated that N (ε)-trimethyllysine did not interfere with hArg quantification in our LC-MS/MS method. Both quantification methods were applied to measure hArg in (1) a case-control study of acute coronary syndrome and (2) L-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase-deficient mice. Our LC-MS/MS and the commercially available ELISA assay are suitable for hArg measurement in human and mouse plasma, but different reference values for each method need to be considered.

Background: Endogenous arginine homologues, including homoarginine, have been identified as novel biomarkers for cardiovascular disease and outcomes. Our studies of human cohorts and a confirmatory murine model associated the arginine homologue homoarginine and its metabolism with stroke pathology and outcome., Methods and Results: Increasing homoarginine levels were independently associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality in patients with ischemic stroke (7.4 years of follow-up; hazard ratio for 1-SD homoarginine, 0.79 [95% confidence interval, 0.64-0.96]; P=0.019; n=389). Homoarginine was also independently associated with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale+age score and 30-day mortality after ischemic stroke (P<0.05; n=137). A genome-wide association study revealed that plasma homoarginine was strongly associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms in the L-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase (AGAT) gene (P<2.1 × 10(-8); n=2806), and increased AGAT expression in a cell model was associated with increased homoarginine. Next, we used 2 genetic murine models to investigate the link between plasma homoarginine and outcome after experimental ischemic stroke: (1) an AGAT deletion (AGAT(-/-)) and (2) a guanidinoacetate N-methyltransferase deletion (GAMT(-/-)) causing AGAT upregulation. As suggested by the genome-wide association study, homoarginine was absent in AGAT(-/-) mice and increased in GAMT(-/-) mice. Cerebral damage and neurological deficits in experimental stroke were increased in AGAT(-/-) mice and attenuated by homoarginine supplementation, whereas infarct size in GAMT(-/-) mice was decreased compared with controls., Conclusions: Low homoarginine appears to be related to poor outcome after ischemic stroke. Further validation in future trials may lead to therapeutic adjustments of homoarginine metabolism that alleviate stroke and other vascular disorders.

Arginine analogs were incorporated site-specifically into proteins using an in vitro translation system. In this system, mRNAs containing a CGGG codon were translated by an aminoacyl-tRNA(CCCG), which was charged with arginine analogs using yeast arginyl-tRNA synthetase. N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine, L-citrulline and L-homoarginine were incorporated successfully into proteins using this method. The influence of arginine monomethylation in histone H3 on the acetylation of lysine residues by histone acetyltransferase hGCN5 was investigated, and the results demonstrated that K9 acetylation was suppressed by the methylation of R8 and R17 but not by R26 methylation. K18 acetylation was not affected by the methylation of R8, R17 and R26. This site-specific modification strategy provides a way to explore the roles of post-translational modifications in the absence of heterogeneity due to other modifications., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)