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Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Bioorthogonal Chemical Imaging of Cell Metabolism Regulated by Aromatic Amino Acids
Published on: May 12, 2023
Neutrophils as a source of branched-chain, aromatic and positively charged free amino acids
Svetlana I Galkina1, Natalia V Fedorova1, Alexander L Ksenofontov1
1a A. N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology , Lomonosov Moscow State University , Moscow , Russia.
Abstract:
Neutrophils release branched-chain (valine, isoleucine, leucine), aromatic (tyrosine, phenylalanine) and positively charged free amino acids (arginine, ornithine, lysine, hydroxylysine, histidine) when adhere and spread onto fibronectin. In the presence of agents that impair cell spreading or adhesion (cytochalasin D, fMLP, nonadhesive substrate), neutrophils release the same amino acids, except for a sharp decrease in hydroxylysine and an increase in phenylalanine, indicating their special connection with cell adhesion. Plasma of patients with diabetes is characterized by an increased content of branched-chain and aromatic amino acids and a reduced ratio of arginine/ornithine compared to healthy human plasma. Our data showed that the secretion of neutrophils, regardless of their adhesion state, can contribute to this shift in the amino acid content. Abbreviations: BCAAs: branched-chain amino acids; Е2: 17β-estradiol; LPS: lipopolysaccharide from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium; fMLP: N-formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine.
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