title: Polyamine metabolism in some helminth parasites.
abstract: Polyamine levels of some helminth parasites were analyzed by reverse phase HPLC of benzoyl derivatives. Setaria cervi, Acanthocheilonema viteae, Hymenolepis nana, H. diminuta, and Ascaridia galli contained higher levels of spermine than spermidine while in Ancylostoma ceylanicum and Nippostrongylus brasiliensis the spermidine levels were higher than spermine; putrescine was either absent or present in minor quantities. The enzymes of polyamine biosynthesis viz., ornithine decarboxylase, S-adenosyl methionine (SAM)-decarboxylase, and arginine decarboxylase were present in very low to negligible amounts in all the parasites examined. A. ceylanicum exhibited high activity of ornithine amino transferase (OAT) and catalyzed appreciable decarboxylation of ornithine. The ornithine decarboxylating activity of A. ceylanicum was localized in the particulate fraction containing mitochondria, not inhibited by alpha-difluoromethyl ornithine, the specific inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), but inhibited in the presence of glutamate, suggesting the involvement of mitochondrial OAT rather than a true ODC in ornithine decarboxylation in this parasite. Significant activity of polyamine oxidase was also detected in helminth parasites. The absence of polyamine biosynthesizing enzymes in helminth parasites suggests their dependence on hosts for uptake and interconversion of polyamines, providing a potential target for chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biochemistry, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Tekwani
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Katiyar
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghatak
authors.forename: O P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Shukla
mesh_terms: D000722:Ancylostoma / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001197:Ascaridia / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004153:Dipetalonema / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005370:Filarioidea / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D006376:Helminths / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006926:Hymenolepis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009559:Nippostrongylus / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D009955:Ornithine Decarboxylase / Q000032:analysis; D000587:Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-NH Group Donors / Q000032:analysis; D011073:Polyamines / Q000378:metabolism*; D012719:Setariasis / Q000469:parasitology; D000097667:Polyamine Oxidase
chemical_list: D009955:Ornithine Decarboxylase; D000587:Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-NH Group Donors; D011073:Polyamines; D000097667:Polyamine Oxidase