Novel Mechanism for Endothelial Dysfunction

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Abstract
Background—Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Plasma levels of ADMA are elevated in individuals with hypercholesterolemia or atherosclerosis. We postulated that reduced degradation of ADMA may play a role in the accumulation of ADMA in these individuals. Accordingly, we studied the effects of oxidized LDL (oxLDL) or tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) on the accumulation of ADMA by transformed human umbilical vein endothelial cells (ECV304) and on the enzyme dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), which degrades ADMA. Methods and Results—ECV304 were incubated with or without native LDL (100 μg/mL), oxLDL (100 μg/mL), or TNF-α (250 U/mL) for 48 hours. The concentration of ADMA in the conditioned medium was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Western blotting was performed to evaluate DDAH expression. We assayed DDAH activity by determining l-citrulline formation from ADMA. The addition of oxLDL or TNF-α to ECV304 significantly...