Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36997574›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2023

The relationship between homoarginine and liver biomarkers: a combination of epidemiological and clinical studies.

Ali Aghdassi, Edzard Schwedhelm, Dorothee Atzler, Matthias Nauck, Jens-Peter Kühn, Marie-Luise Kromrey, Henry Völzke, Stephan B Felix, Marcus Dörr, Till Ittermann and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Mechanisms of Homoarginine: Looking Beyond Clinical Outcomes.Acta physiologica (Oxford, England) · 2025
    Review
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Ali Aghdassi *Department of Medicine A - Gastroenterology, Nephrology, Endocrinology and Rheumatology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Edzard Schwedhelm *Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Dorothee AtzlerInstitute of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Matthias NauckWalther Straub Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.
Jens-Peter KühnInstitute and Policlinic for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital, Carl Gustav Carus University, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Marie-Luise KromreyInstitute for Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Henry VölzkeDZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Stephan B FelixDZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Marcus DörrDZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Till Ittermann *DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Martin Bahls *DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany. martin.bahls@uni-greifswald.de.
Universitätsmedizin Greifswald · DEUniversität Hamburg · DEUniversity Hospital Carl Gustav Carus · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Homoarginine (hArg) is a non-essential cationic amino acid which inhibits hepatic alkaline phosphatases to exert inhibitory effects on bile secretion by targeting intrahepatic biliary epithelium. We analyzed (1) the relationship between hArg and liver biomarkers in two large population-based studies and (2) the impact of hArg supplementation on liver biomarkers. We assessed the relationship between alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatases (AP), albumin, total bilirubin, cholinesterase, Quick's value, liver fat, and Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) and hArg in appropriately adjusted linear regression models. We analyzed the effect of L-hArg supplemention (125 mg L-hArg daily for 4 weeks) on these liver biomarkers. We included 7638 individuals (men: 3705; premenopausal women: 1866, postmenopausal women: 2067). We found positive associations for hArg and ALT (β 0.38 µkatal/L 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.29; 0.48), AST (β 0.29 µkatal/L 95% CI 0.17; 0.41), GGT (β 0.033 µkatal/L 95% CI 0.014; 0.053), Fib-4 score (β 0.08 95% CI 0.03; 0.13), liver fat content (β 0.016% 95% CI 0.006; 0.026), albumin (β 0.030 g/L 95% CI 0.019; 0.040), and cholinesterase (β 0.003 µkatal/L 95% CI 0.002; 0.004) in males. In premenopausal women hArg was positively related with liver fat content (β 0.047% 95%CI 0.013; 0.080) and inversely with albumin (β - 0.057 g/L 95% CI - 0.073; - 0.041). In postmenopausal women hARG was positively associated with AST (β 0.26 µkatal/L 95% CI 0.11; 0.42). hArg supplementation did not affect liver biomarkers. We summarize that hArg may be a marker of liver dysfunction and should be explored further.

Indexed as

End Stage Liver DiseaseHomoarginineAlanine TransaminaseAlbuminsAlkaline PhosphataseBiomarkersFemalegamma-GlutamyltransferaseHumansLiverMaleSeverity of Illness IndexAlanine TransaminaseAlbuminsAlkaline PhosphataseBiomarkersgamma-GlutamyltransferaseHomoarginine

Identifiers

PMID36997574
PMCPMC10063556
OpenAlexW4362507460

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.