Polyamines in rat liver during experimental inflammation.

The effect of turpentine, a chemical inflammatory agent, on polyamine synthesis has been studied. Ornithine decarboxylase activity is markedly increased in liver 6 hrs after subcutaneous injection of turpentine, and then decreases. No significant modification is observed in S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase. Putrescine injected prior to turpentine prevents this increase. Putrescine, spermidine and spermine concentrations are all increased following turpentine, but with different patterns: spermidine alone keeps increasing for 50 hours. Putrescine and spermidine injected prior to turpentine partially counteract the increase of serum alpha 2-macroglobulin, which is believed to be a marker of inflammation.