Ornithine decarboxilase from Crithidia fasciculata is metabolically unstable and resistant to polyamine down-regulation

CERIANI CAROLINA; GONZALEZ NELIDA SUSANA; ALGRANATI ISRAEL D

FEBS LETTERS

Elsevier Science Publishers

Año: 1992 vol. 301 p. 261 - 264

0014-5793

Ornithine decarboxilase (ODC) of Crithidia fasciculata extracts shows  maximal activity during exponential growth of the parasite and decreases markedly in the stationary phase. The inhibition of protein synthesis by cycloheximide evoked a rapid loss of enzyme activity with a half-life of about 30 min. Upon removal of DFMO from Crithidia cultures treated with the drug for 24 hs, the ODC activity increased at the same rate as total protein synthesis. The addition of putrescine at high concentrations to parasites cultivated in a synthetic medium showed that Crithidia ODC levels were not reduced by polyamines