Summary.
To extend the knowledge on the role of polyamine oxidase in thymus physiology, we evaluated the in vivo effect of the polyamine biosynthetic pathway inhibitor mitoguazone. The drug markedly and permanently decreased the enzyme activity in the organ, in which the level of putrescine also decreased at the later times observed. A byproduct of the reaction catalyzed by polyamine oxidase is hydrogen peroxide, a well known inducer of apoptosis. The decrease in polyamine oxidase activity, with the consequent decrease in hydrogen peroxide production, is correlated with a positive effect on thymus physiology. Since mitoguazone has been successfully employed in patients with AIDS-related diseases, in which the reconstitution of the immune function is a favorable prognostic index, we hypothesized that mitoguazone may have the thymus as target organ, and that the decrease in polyamine oxidase activity may have a role in the positive effect of the drug.
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Received March 18, 2002 Accepted June 27, 2002 Published online November 14, 2002
Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Prof. Carlo Pellicciari (Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Università di Pavia) for critical reading the manuscript; Dr. Maria Grazia Bottone and Dr. Cristiana Soldani (Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Università di Pavia) who performed the cytometric experiments; and Betty Johnston for linguistic revision of the manuscript.
Authors' address: Dr. Maria Elena Ferioli, Centro di Studio sulla Patologia Cellulare, C.N.R, c/o Istituto di Patologia Generale, Via Mangiagalli 31, I-20133 Milano, Italy, Fax +39-02-50315338; E-mail: MariaElena.Ferioli@unimi.it
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Ferioli, M., Armanni, A. Polyamine oxidase activity in rats treated with mitoguazone: Specific and permanent decrease in thymus. Amino Acids 24, 187–194 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-002-0334-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-002-0334-4