Enhancement of the rate of spontaneous mutation to 6-thioguanine resistance in mammalian cells by polyamine depletion

Several lines of evidence have suggested, but not proved, that polyamines are associated with DNA in intact cells. In an attempt to investigate the roles of polyamines in gene-associated functions, we examined the effects of polyamine depletion on the spontaneous mutation rate in a rat basophilic le...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.) Ill.), 1984-10, Vol.44 (10), p.4272-4275
Main Authors: KAMATANI, N, NISHIOKA, K, MORITA, T, MORITA, Y, TAKEUCHI, F, MATSUTA, K, NISHIDA, Y, MIYAMOTO, T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Antineoplastic agents
Basophils - drug effects
Biological and medical sciences
Drug Resistance
Eflornithine
General aspects
Leukemia, Experimental - pathology
Medical sciences
Methylnitronitrosoguanidine - toxicity
Mutation
Ornithine - analogs & derivatives
Ornithine - pharmacology
Ornithine Decarboxylase Inhibitors
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Polyamines - metabolism
Rats
Thioguanine - toxicity
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Several lines of evidence have suggested, but not proved, that polyamines are associated with DNA in intact cells. In an attempt to investigate the roles of polyamines in gene-associated functions, we examined the effects of polyamine depletion on the spontaneous mutation rate in a rat basophilic leukemia cell line. The frequency of 6-thioguanine-resistant mutant cells increased by approximately 9-fold as a result of the treatment with alpha-difluoromethylornithine, a potent inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.17). This increase was prevented by supplementing the cultures with putrescine, suggesting that polyamine depletion, but not the direct mutagenic action of the enzyme inhibitor, is responsible for the mutant-increasing effect. These results suggest that polyamines may participate in the conservation of genetic information at either the chromosome or gene level.
ISSN:0008-5472
1538-7445