Anti-tumor activity of arginine deiminase via arginine deprivation in retinoblastoma.

In spite of recent advances in the treatment of retinoblastoma, chemotherapy is still challenging in high-stage intraocular retinoblastoma or metastatic retinoblastoma. Here, we investigated whether arginine deprivation via arginine deiminase (ADI) could be a new anti-tumor therapy in retinoblastoma cells. Expression of argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS) was detected in human retinoblastoma tissues. Even with a high expression of ASS, ADI effectively inhibited the proliferation of retinoblastoma cells and induced retinoblastoma cell death in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicate that arginine deprivation via ADI could be another treatment option for retinoblastoma due to low ASS activity in retinoblastoma cells.