Arginine stimulates lymphocyte immune response in healthy human beings

The effect of daily dietary supplements of 30 gm of arginine HCl for 7 days on peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) mitogenic reactivity in vitro was measured in 21 healthy human volunteers. Arginine significantly increased stimulation indices of PBL following concanavalin A (Con A) (57.9 +/- 11.4 vers...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inSurgery Vol. 90; no. 2; p. 244
Main Authors Barbul, A, Sisto, D A, Wasserkrug, H L, Efron, G
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.01.1981
Subjects
Administration, Oral
Arginine - pharmacology
Concanavalin A - pharmacology
Female
Humans
Immunity, Cellular - drug effects
Immunologic Techniques
In Vitro Techniques
Lymphocytes - drug effects
Lymphocytes - immunology
Male
Mitogens - pharmacology
Phytohemagglutinins - pharmacology
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:The effect of daily dietary supplements of 30 gm of arginine HCl for 7 days on peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) mitogenic reactivity in vitro was measured in 21 healthy human volunteers. Arginine significantly increased stimulation indices of PBL following concanavalin A (Con A) (57.9 +/- 11.4 versus 216.9 +/- 46.6, P less than 0.01) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) (84.1 +/- 12.8 versus 307.0 +/- 59.4, P less than 0.001) stimulation in a microculture assay utilizing RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated autologous serum. Similar enhanced blastogenesis was observed using medium supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated pooled AB normal human serum. In six volunteers studied following 3 days of similar arginine supplementation, blastogenic responses of their peripheral blood lymphocytes were already significantly enhanced, although not as greatly as after 7 days. Arginine had no effect on total peripheral blood lymphocyte counts and on T- and B-cell ratios. The effects of supplemental dietary arginine could not be duplicated in vitro by increasing the arginine concentration in the culture medium. Furthermore, dietary arginine supplementation did not increase cell viability in culture. Minimal side effects were noted, such as nausea or diarrhea, which responded to lowering the dose ingested at one time. No deleterious effects were noted on liver function test results. We conclude that supplemental dietary arginine is a safe nutritional stimulator of lymphocyte immune reactivity in healthy human beings.
ISSN:0039-6060