page_title: Arginine
section_title: Biosynthesis
hierarchical_section_title: Arginine / Sources / Biosynthesis
caption_attribution_description: English: Arginine biosynthesis.
context_page_description: Arginine, also known as l-arginine, is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group, an α-carboxylic acid group, and a side chain consisting of a 3-carbon aliphatic straight chain ending in a guanidino group. At physiological pH, the carboxylic acid is deprotonated, the amino group is protonated, and the guanidino group is also protonated to give the guanidinium form, making arginine a charged, aliphatic amino acid. It is the precursor for the biosynthesis of nitric oxide. It is encoded by the codons CGU, CGC, CGA, CGG, AGA, and AGG.
  Arginine is classified as a semiessential or conditionally essential amino acid, depending on the developmental stage and health status of the individual. Preterm infants are unable to synthesize or create arginine internally, making the amino acid nutritionally essential for them. Most healthy people do not need to supplement with arginine because it is a component of all protein-containing foods and can be synthesized in the body from glutamine via citrulline.
context_section_description: Arginine is synthesized from citrulline in arginine and proline metabolism by the sequential action of the cytosolic enzymes argininosuccinate synthetase and argininosuccinate lyase. This is an energetically costly process, because for each molecule of argininosuccinate that is synthesized, one molecule of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is hydrolyzed to adenosine monophosphate (AMP), consuming two ATP equivalents.
  Citrulline can be derived from multiple sources:
  from arginine itself via nitric oxide synthase, as a byproduct of the production of nitric oxide for signaling purposes
  from ornithine through the breakdown of proline or glutamine/glutamate
  from asymmetric dimethylarginine via DDAH
  The pathways linking arginine, glutamine, and proline are bidirectional. Thus, the net use or production of these amino acids is highly dependent on cell type and developmental stage.
  On a whole-body basis, synthesis of arginine occurs principally via the intestinal–renal axis: the epithelial cells of the small intestine produce citrulline, primarily from glutamine and glutamate, which is carried in the bloodstream to the proximal tubule cells of the kidney, which extract citrulline from the circulation and convert it to arginine, which is returned to the circulation. This means that impaired small bowel or renal function can reduce arginine synthesis, increasing the dietary requirement.
  Synthesis of arginine from citrulline also occurs at a low level in many other cells, and cellular capacity for arginine synthesis can be markedly increased under circumstances that increase the production of inducible NOS. This allows citrulline, a byproduct of the NOS-catalyzed production of nitric oxide, to be recycled to arginine in a pathway known as the citrulline-NO or arginine-citrulline pathway. This is demonstrated by the fact that, in many cell types, NO synthesis can be supported to some extent by citrulline, and not just by arginine. This recycling is not quantitative, however, because citrulline accumulates in NO-producing cells along with nitrate and nitrite, the stable end-products of NO breakdown.
caption: Arginine biosynthesis.
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