The role of ornithine decarboxylase and polyamines in regeneration of the frog sciatic nerve.

The current study examined both in vivo and in vitro the effects of alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), on regeneration of sensory axons from a local crush of the adult frog sciatic nerve. If daily injections of DFMO started at the same time as crushing and continued throughout the regeneration period (7 days) the outgrowth in vivo of new sensory axons was reduced by about 30%. If DFMO injections started 2 days after crushing, the outgrowth distance did not differ from control values. The sensory axons of a cultured frog sciatic nerve with the attached spinal ganglia start to regenerate from a local crush applied 7 days after the start of the incubation. Five days after crushing the outgrowth distance was 4.5 mm. At the end of the culturing period (7 + 5 days) both the putrescine and spermidine concentrations in the ganglia had increased about 2.5 times, whereas the spermine concentration remained constant. The presence of 10 mM DFMO throughout the culturing period, 7 + 5 days, almost depleted putrescine and prevented the spermidine increase in the ganglia without affecting the regeneration distance. In the nerve putrescine was only reduced by 55% and the other polyamines were unaffected by DFMO. The results show that DFMO influences the early onset of regeneration in vivo. The in vitro results indicate that this is not due to a close mechanistic relationship between the perikaryonal ODC/polyamine system and nerve regeneration. The question of whether polyamines are of local importance for regeneration of the frog sciatic nerve cannot be answered by the present results.