Overexpression of the BltD gene in Bacillus subtilis causes acetylation of the polyamines spermidine and spermine. BltD is co-regulated with another gene, Blt, which encodes a multidrug export protein whose overexpression facilitates spermidine export [Woolridge, Vazquez-Laslop, Markham, Chevalier, Gerner and Neyfakh (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 8864-8866]. Here we show that BltD acetylates both ...

As our society ages, neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson`s disease (PD) are increasing in pandemic proportions. While mechanistic understanding of PD is advancing, a treatment with well tolerable drugs is still elusive. Here, we show that administration of the naturally occurring polyamine spermidine, which declines continuously during aging in various species, alleviates a series of PD-...

The polyamines putrescine, spermidine, and spermine have been implicated in the regulation of both cell proliferation and differentiation. We have monitored the relationship of intracellular polyamine levels with proliferation and differentiation of murine Friend erythroleukemia (MEL) cells. The ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor, alpha-difluoromethylornithine, has been used to inhibit MEL proli...

The expression (mRNA level of enzymic activity) of cytosolic and nuclear spermidine acetyltransferases was studied in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts, either (1) serum-starved and stimulated to grow by serum refeeding, or (2) treated with inhibitors of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) (MDL 72.175) and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (AdoMetDC) (MDL 73.811) and stimulated to grow by spermidine. Expression o...

15-Deoxyspergualin (DSG) inhibited growth of mouse EL-4 lymphoma cells with an IC50 0.02 microg/ml. Even though the cells were treated with DSG for only 4 hours and then washed, the antiproliferative effect lasted long with an IC50 0.4 microg/ml. DSG has spermidine and guanidine moieties in its structure. One decomposed element containing guanidine moiety inhibited the growth at higher doses th...

In the present work evidence is provided that spermidine, a polyamine largely present in plant tissues, may be transported, at physiological concentrations, into the matrix space of mitochondria isolated from tubers of Helianthus tuberosus L. cv OB1 (Jerusalem artichoke). It is concluded that the movement of spermidine strictly depends on membrane potential, since it is drastically blocked by v...

The polyamine spermidine (NH,(CH&NH(CH&NH,) is widespread in nature. It is present in mammalian tissues (1, 2), plants (3), bacteria (47), ribosomes (6, 8), and bacteriophages (9-11). There are various methods for its identification, including steam distillation (12)) paper chromatography (13-18)) paper electrophoresis (14, 16, 17, 19), ion exchange chromatography (2, 5), gas chromatography (31...

Pseudomonas sp. strain Kim has previously been reported to be the only known naturally occurring organism lacking spermidine. We now show that it synthesizes this polyamine. The apparent lack of intracellular levels of spermidine results from an efficient conversion of spermidine to putrescine and hydroxyputrescine.

AsbA catalyses the highly enantioselective desymmetrisation of citric acid via ATP-dependent condensation with spermidine, as well as the condensation of citric acid with several spermidine analogues and the condensation of the citric acid analogue tricarballylic acid with spermidine, suggesting that it may be a useful biocatalyst for asymmetric synthesis.

The trypanocidal activity of the ODC (ornithine decarboxylase) inhibitor DFMO (difluoromethylornithine) has validated polyamine biosynthesis as a target for chemotherapy. As DFMO is one of only two drugs used to treat patients with late-stage African trypanosomiasis, the requirement for additional drug targets is paramount. Here, we report the biochemical properties of TbSpSyn (Trypanosoma bruc...