title: Stable ornithine decarboxylase in promastigotes of Leishmania mexicana mexicana.
abstract: Studies on the decarboxylation of ornithine in Leishmania mexicana have shown that this activity corresponds to a true ornithine decarboxylase rather than to an oxidative decarboxylation or aminotransferase reaction, both of which also give rise to the release of CO2. The stoichiometric relationship between substrate and products has indicated that extracts of L. mexicana were able to catalyse the formation of an unknown compound besides putrescine and CO2. The addition of cycloheximide to cultures of L. mexicana allowed us to demonstrate that ornithine decarboxylase degradation in vivo was extremely slow in this parasite. This remarkable stability of the enzyme is only comparable to that found in Trypanosoma brucei and contrasts with the high turnover rate of ornithine decarboxylases of different mammalian cells.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquimicas Fundacion Campomar, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: N S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: I D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Algranati
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002262:Carboxy-Lyases / Q000378:metabolism; D002474:Cell-Free System; D007700:Kinetics; D007894:Leishmania mexicana / Q000201:enzymology*; D009955:Ornithine Decarboxylase / Q000378:metabolism*; D011489:Protein Denaturation; D011732:Pyridoxal Phosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D011732:Pyridoxal Phosphate; D002262:Carboxy-Lyases; D009955:Ornithine Decarboxylase; C019722:arginine decarboxylase