Figure 1From: Live and let die: asymmetric dimethylarginine and septic shockStructural formulae. Schematic drawings of the structural formula of (a) L-arginine, the natural substrate of nitric oxide (NO) synthase, (b) NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, the NO synthase inhibitor used in clinical trials, and (c) asymmetric dimethylarginine, the endogenous inhibitor of NO synthases. The circle in (a) indicates the terminal guanidino nitrogen group, where NO is cleaved by NO synthase.Back to article page