Arginase: Structure, Function, and Therapeutic Targeting
- 1st Edition, Volume 740 - December 8, 2026
- Latest edition
- Editor: Luigi Di Costanzo
- Language: English
This volume of Methods in Enzymology, entitled “Arginase: Structure, Function, and Therapeutic Targeting,” provides a comprehensive, methodology-driven perspective on arg… Read more
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Description
Description
The volume is organized into four sections that reflect the breadth of the field, spanning structural and mechanistic enzymology, inhibitor design and therapeutic development, clinical and metabolic aspects of arginine biology, and the evolutionary and functional diversity of arginase and related enzymes. Chapters cover experimental approaches to enzyme expression, purification, and structural characterization; synthetic and computational strategies for inhibitor discovery; and emerging therapeutic modalities, including antibody-based targeting of specific arginase isoforms, advanced delivery systems, and engineered enzyme formulations.
Importantly, the volume extends beyond classical views of arginase as an enzyme of arginine metabolism, highlighting its broader structural and functional context within the ureohydrolase superfamily and related guanidinohydrolase enzymes, including alternative substrates, catalytic diversity, and roles in microorganisms and plants. These perspectives emphasize arginase function in nitrogen metabolism, host–pathogen interactions, and environmental and physiological adaptation.
By integrating contributions from both academia and industry, this volume emphasizes reproducible methodologies and provides a cohesive “from enzyme to organism” framework, connecting fundamental structure–function relationships with applications in metabolism, vascular biology, and therapeutic development.
Key features
Key features
- Comprehensive coverage of arginase from structure and mechanism to therapeutic targeting
- Methodology-driven chapters emphasizing experimental design, reproducibility, and analytical approaches
- Integration of academic and industry perspectives on inhibitor development, antibody-based and protein-based strategies, and translational applications
Readership
Readership
Table of contents
Table of contents
1. Expression, Purification, and Structural Characterization of Human and Leishmania Arginase with Comparative Analysis of Structures from the Protein Data Bank
E. D'Antonio, Luigi Franklin Di Costanzo and David W. Christianson
2. Synthesis of First-Generation Arginase Inhibitors
F. Sodano
3. Computational and Structure-Guided Design of Arginase Inhibitors
M.A. Fumagalli
4. Metal Substitution in Arginase: Experimental Approaches to Study Metal-Dependent Catalysis
George Georgiou
Section II: Advanced Therapeutic Strategies and Analytical Methods for Arginase
5. Therapeutic Arginase Formulations: PEGylation, Stability, and Advanced Delivery Systems
L. Sloan and M. Rudebeck
6. Dual ARG1/ARG2 Inhibition: Experimental and Structural Strategies for Inhibitor Design and Optimization
M. Grzybowski
7. Synthesis of Second-Generation Arginase Inhibitors
F. Sodano
8. Cryo-EM Workflow and Structural Characterization of Arginase–Antibody Complexes
G. Scapin
9. Development and Validation of an Electrochemical Assay for Arginase Activity
A. Miglione, Luigi Franklin Di Costanzo and Stefano Cinti
Section III: Clinical, Metabolic, and Translational Aspects of Arginase
10. Experimental and Structural Analysis of H. pylori Arginase in Gastric Immune Evasion
A.K. Sau
11. Agmatinase and Alternative Arginine Utilization Pathways in Bacteria: Biochemical and Functional Perspectives
J. French
12. Arginase Deficiency and Urea Cycle Disorders: Clinical and Metabolic Management
N. Brunetti-Pierri
13. Inborn Errors of Metabolism and Arginine Pathways: Experimental and Clinical Approaches
A. Schulze
14. Arginine Metabolism and Protein Balance: Experimental Approaches in Human Physiology
M. P. K. J. Engelen
15. Arginase in Endothelial Dysfunction and Vascular Disease: Experimental and Translational Approaches
W. Caldwell and R. Caldwell
16. Arginase in Cardiovascular and Vascular Inflammatory Disease
W. Durante
Section IV: Evolutionary and Functional Diversity of Arginase and Related Enzymes
17. Catalytic Diversification of the Arginase Fold: Structural and Mechanistic Insights from DcsB
Y. Matoba and Kosuke Oda
18. Beyond Arginase: Structural Biology of the Extended Guanidinase Family
G. Mlynek, S. V. Kundapura and D. Carugo
19. Plant Arginase: Structural and Functional Roles in Nitrogen Metabolism
B. Sekula
Product details
Product details
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Volume: 740
- Published: December 8, 2026
- Language: English
About the editor
About the editor
LC
Luigi Di Costanzo
Luigi F. Di Costanzo is a structural chemist and biochemist specializing in structural biology, enzymology, and protein science, with a focus on metalloenzymes and structure-based approaches to enzyme function and inhibition. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Università degli Studi di Trieste (Italy) and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania, where he contributed to foundational studies on enzyme structure and inhibitor design.
His research centers on the three-dimensional structure and mechanism of enzymes, with extensive experience in macromolecular crystallography, including structure determination, refinement, and analysis of protein–ligand complexes. His work integrates structural, biochemical, and biophysical approaches to understand enzyme function and guide therapeutic targeting.
In addition to his research, he served for over a decade as a biocurator with the Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) at the RCSB PDB (Rutgers University), contributing to the validation and annotation of more than 7,500 macromolecular structures. This work supported the integrity and reproducibility of structural biology data used by the global scientific community, including structural datasets that have contributed to the development of machine learning approaches to protein structure prediction, such as AlphaFold.
His broader expertise includes multiscale structural characterization through complementary imaging and analytical techniques, including X-ray micro–computed tomography (µCT), linking atomic-level structure to complex biological systems, as well as contributions to community data resources, including the Protein Design Archive. As editor of the Methods in Enzymology volume “Arginase: Structure, Function, and Therapeutic Targeting,” he brings together structural, metabolic, and translational perspectives to advance the field.