The aim of the work was to conduct a comparative analysis of the activity of NO-synthase and arginase and the content of L-arginine in peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with AH in combination with COVID-19 pneumonia. 46 patients with AH combined with COVID-19 pneumonia were included in the study and were aggregated into two groups. The I group included 22 people with AH and a mild COVID-19 pneumonia; the II group – 24 patients with AH and a severe COVID-19 pneumonia. 20 practically healthy people were selected for the control group. General clinical examinations as well as determination of L-arginine concentration, arginase and NO-synthase activity in peripheral blood lymphocytes were performed on all individuals, The results of the study showed a reliable decrease in concentration of L-arginine in patients with AH and a mild COVID-19 by 19.7% in comparison with the control group, and its increasing in patients with AH and a severe course of COVID-19 pneumonia by 28, 9% (р<0.05). In the presence of severe COVID-19 pneumonia, arginase activity indicators were credibly higher by 37.5% (p<0.05) than in the case of AH and a mild course of COVID-19. Furthermore, the severe course of the coronavirus disease in patients with AH was accompanied by a significant increase in NOS against the background of a deterioration in the procoagulant properties of the blood and an increase in D-dimers. Therefore, the course of AH in the presence of mild and severe coronavirus pneumonia is accompanied by a significant deficiency of L-arginine, a predominance of arginase activity compared to NO-synthase activity in peripheral blood lymphocytes, due to lungs affection degree and endothelial dysfunction.

Article received: 12.12.2022

Keywords: L-arginine, arginase, NOS, arterial hypertension, COVID-19

Full text: PDF (Ukr)

1. 1. Sanyaolu A, Okorie C, Marinkovic A, Patidar R, Younis K, Desai P et al. Comorbidity and its Impact on Patients with COVID-19. SN Compr Clin Med. 2020;2(8):1069-1076. doi.org/10.1007/s42399-020-00363-4
2. 2. Xu J, Xiao W, Liang X, Shi L, Zhang P, Wang Y et al. A meta-analysis on the risk factors adjusted association between cardiovascular disease and COVID-19 severity. BMC Public Health. 2021;21(1):1533. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11051-w. doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11051-w
3. 3. Garg S, Kim L, Whitaker M, O'Halloran A, Cummings C, Holstein R et al. Hospitalization Rates and Characteristics of Patients Hospitalized with Laboratory-Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 - COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1-30, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(15):458-464. doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6915e3
4. 4.Samchuk OO, Kapustynska OS, Sklyrov YeYa. Features of the course of coronavirus disease in heart failure. Achievements of clinical and experimental medicine. 2021;3:153-156.
5. 5. Elezkurtaj S, Greuel S, Ihlow J, Michaelis EG, Bischoff P, Kunze CA et al. Causes of death and comorbidities in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):4263. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82862-5
6. 6. Calvo I, SantaCruz-Calvo S, Aranzana MG, Mármol P, Luque JÁ, Peral I et al. Digital Tomosynthesis and COVID-19: An Improvement in the Assessment of Pulmonary Opacities. Arch Bronconeumol (Engl Ed). 2020;56(11):761-763. doi.org/10.1016/j.arbr.2020.06.005
7. 7. Safiabadi Tali SH, LeBlanc JJ, Sadiq Z, Oyewunmi OD, Camargo C, Nikpour B et al. Tools and Techniques for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)/COVID-19 Detection. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2021;34(3):e00228-20.doi.org/10.1128/CMR.00228-20
8. 8. Gambardella J, Khondkar W, Morelli MB, Wang X, Santulli G, Trimarco V. Arginine and Endothelial Function. Biomedicines. 2020;8(8):277.doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines8080277
9. 9. Durante W. Targeting Arginine in COVID-19-Induced Immunopathology and Vasculopathy. Metabolites. 2022;12(3):240.doi.org/10.3390/metabo12030240
10. 10. Adebayo A, Varzideh F, Wilson S, Gambardella J, Eacobacci M, Jankauskas SS et al. l-Arginine and COVID-19: An Update. Nutrients. 2021;13(11):3951. doi.org/10.3390/nu13113951
11. 11. Rees CA, Rostade CA, Mantus G, Anderson EJ, Chahroudi A, Jaggi P et al. Altered amino acid profile in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2021;118:e2101708118. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101708118
12. 12. Derakhshani A, Hemmat N, Asadzadeh Z, Ghaseminia M, Shadbad MA, Jadideslam G et al. Arginase 1 (Arg1) as an Up-Regulated Gene in COVID-19 Patients: A Promising Marker in COVID-19 Immunopathy. J Clin Med. 2021;10(5):1051.doi.org/10.3390/jcm10051051
13. 13. Hemmat N, Derakhshani A, Baghi HB, Silvestris N, Baradaran B et al. Neutrophils, crucial, or harmful immune cells involved in coronavirus infection: A bioinformatics study. Front Genet. 2020;11:641.doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2020.00641
14. 14. Guan WJ, Ni ZY, Hu Y, Liang WH, Ou CQ, He JX et al. Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 in China. New England Journal of Medicine. 2020;382(18):1708-1720.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2002032
15. 15. Williams B, Mancia G, Spiering W, Agabiti Rosei E, Azizi M, Burnier M et al. ESC Scientific Document Group. 2018 ESC/ESH Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension. Eur Heart J. 2018;39(33):3021-3104. doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehy339
16. 16. Hosinian M, Qujeq D, Ahangar AA. The Relation Between GABA and L-Arginine Levels With Some Stroke Risk Factors in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients. Int J Mol Cell Med. 2016; 5(2):100-105.
17. 17. Bernardi F, Constantino L, Machado R, Petronilho F, Dal-Pizzol F. Plasma nitric oxide, endothelin-1, arginase and superoxide dismutase in pre-eclamptic women. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2008; 34(6): 957-963. doi.org/10.1111/j.1447-0756.2008.00860.x
18. 18. Ravaeva M Yu. Changes in the activity of the nitric oxide synthesis system under by the action of low-intensity millimeter radiation. Scientific notes of V.I. Vernadsky Taurida National University. 2011;24:201-210.
19. 19. Liu K, Chen Y, Lin R, Han K. Clinical features of COVID-19 in elderly patients: A comparison with young and middle-aged patients. J Infect. 2020 Jun;80(6):e14-e18.doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2020.03.005
20. 20. Zhu B, Feng X, Jiang C, Mi S, Yang L, Zhao Z, Zhang Y, Zhang L. Correlation between white blood cell count at admission and mortality in COVID-19 patients: a retrospective study. BMC Infect Dis. 2021;2(1):574.doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-06277-3
21. 21. Komurcuoglu B. Clinical and laboratory findings of COVID-19. Eurasian Journal of Pulmonolgy. 2020;22:S16-S18.doi.org/10.4103/ejop.ejop_57_20
22. 22. Sabioni LR, Tibirica E, Lamas CC, Amorim GD, De Lorenzo A. Systemic microvascular dysfunction in COVID-19. Am J Cardiovasc Dis. 2020 Oct 15;10(4):386-391.
23. 23. Munder M. Arginase: an emerging key player in the mammalian immune system. Br J Pharmacol. 2009 Oct 14;158:638-651.doi.org/10.1111/j.1476-5381.2009.00291.x