Arginine metabolism and its functions in growth, nutrient utilization, and immunonutrition of fish

Abstract

Fish have limited ability in endogenous biosynthesis of arginine. Arginine is an indispensable amino acid for fish, and the arginine requirement varies with fish species and fish size. Recent studies on fish have demonstrated that arginine influences nutrient metabolism, stimulates insulin release, is involved in nonspecific immune responses and antioxidant responses, and elevates disease resistance. Specifically, arginine can regulate energy homeostasis via modulating the adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway, and also regulate protein synthesis via activating the target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathway. The present article reviews pertinent knowledge of arginine in fish, including dietary quantitative requirements, endogenous anabolism and catabolism, regulation of the endocrine and metabolic systems, and immune-regulatory functions under pathogenic challenge. Our findings showed that further data about the distribution of arginine after intake into specific cells, its sub-cellular sensor to initiate downstream signaling pathways, and its effects on fish mucosal immunity, especially the adaptive immune response against pathogenic infection in different species, are urgently needed.

Comparative proteome analysis reveals possible heterosis for growth, immunity and antioxidation mechanisms in Macrobrachium nipponense hybrid offspring and parent populations

“…pathways play important roles in regulating normal physiological functions and promoting growth and development of the body (Newsholme et al, 2003;Wang, Li, et al, 2021;Wang, Xu, & Ai, 2021).…”

“…We also identified growth metabolism‐related pathways from KEGG analysis, including organic selenium compound metabolism (ko00450), alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism (ko00250), arginine biosynthesis (ko00220) and arginine and proline metabolism (ko00330). The glutamine and glutamate metabolism (ko00471) pathways play important roles in regulating normal physiological functions and promoting growth and development of the body (Newsholme et al, 2003; Wang, Li, et al, 2021; Wang, Xu, & Ai, 2021). Studies have shown that selenium is an essential micronutrient to improve the growth and health of animals, and plays an important role in the anti‐oxidation, immunity and detoxification of aquatic organisms (Khan et al, 2016; Yu et al, 2021).…”

Effects of Dietary Arginine Level on Growth Performance and Immune Response in Monopterus albus

“…Te reasons for the signifcant variation may be due to diferent species, growth stages, dietary protein sources and contents, composition of dietary protein, amino acids, water temperature, salinity, and/or experimental assessment indices [16]. In addition, carnivorous species have higher dietary arginine requirements than omnivorous fsh [17]. M. albus is a carnivorous fsh; thus, higher dietary arginine requirements are reasonable.…”

Role of arginine supplementation on muscular metabolism and flesh quality of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) reared in freshwater

“…Our previous study found that dietary supplementation creatine improved L. vannamei flesh quality cultured in freshwater ( 5 ). Creatine is an essential metabolite of arginine ( 29 ). However, our study found that the creatine content of hepatopancreas and muscle was not affected by adding dietary arginine.…”