Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
The neonatal small intestine is susceptible to damage by endotoxin, and this cytotoxicity may involve intracellular generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), resulting in DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction. L-Arginine (Arg) confers a cytoprotective effect on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated enterocytes through activation of the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Arg improves DNA synthesis and mitochondrial bioenergetics, which may also be responsible for beneficial effects of Arg on intestinal mucosal cells. In support of this notion, results of recent studies indicate that elevated Arg concentrations enhances DNA synthesis, cell-cycle progression, and mitochondrial bioenergetics in LPS-treated intestinal epithelial cells through mechanisms involving activation of the PI3K-Akt pathway. These findings provide a biochemical basis for dietary Arg supplementation to improve the regeneration and repair of the small-intestinal mucosa in both animals and humans.