Chitosan induces different L-arginine metabolic pathways in resting and inflammatory macrophages

PORPORATTO, CARINA; BIANCO, ISMAEL D.; RIERA, CLELIA M.; CORREA, SILVIA G.

BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE

Año: 2003 vol. 304 p. 266 - 272

0006-291X

Chitosan is a linear polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and deacetylated glucosamine widely used as a wound-healing accelerator in clinical and veterinary medicine. Chitosan enhances the functions of inflammatory cells such as macrophages (Mφ), inducing the production of cytokines as well as the expression of activation markers, Fc receptors and mannose receptor. In this work we studied the effects of chitosan on the arginine metabolic pathways of both resident and inflammatory (proteose-peptone elicited) rat Mφ. Our results show that low molecular weight (LMW) chitosan activated moderately both the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and arginase pathways in resident Mφ. In inflammatory Mφ treated with chitosan instead, the arginase activity was strongly enhanced. Supernatants of chitosan-stimulated Mφ enhanced the proliferation of the rat cell line C6. These findings suggest that the healing activity of chitosan could rely on the enhanced arginase activity observed in a wound-associated inflammatory milieu. © 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.