Abstract
The polyamines putrescine, spermidine, and spermine are aliphatic cations that play important roles in normal cell proliferation and differentiation and have been shown to be constitutively increased during malignant transformation (1,2). Polyamines are ubiquitous in nature and their cellular levels are intricately regulated by both biosynthetic (ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, spermidine synthase, and spermine synthase) and catabolic enzymes (spermidine/spermine acetyl transferase, flavin containing polyamine oxidase, copper containing diamine oxidase, and other amine oxidases) (Fig. 1). Increased levels of polyamines, as observed in human cancers, are the result of deregulation of polyamine metabolism and transport (3,4). Consequently, the polyamine biosynthetic, degradative, and transport pathways have been explored as potential targets for both cancer prevention and therapeutic interventions (5-8). Evidence is presented in this chapter indicating that signaling networks that regulate polyamine levels are possible targets for the design of drugs for human cancer prevention and treatment.
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