Allosteric activation by purine nucleosides and nucleotides of the inactive by phosphatase ornithine decarboxylase of Tetrahymena pyriformis.

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) of Tetrahymena pyriformis is inactivated by E. coli or calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase. Inactivated ODC by E. coli alkaline phosphatase, form b, can be allosterically reactivated to form a by purine-nucleosides or -nucleotides at 10(-4) M concentration. Inactivated ODC by calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase bound to agarose can be converted to form a by purine-analogues with 10(-7) M concentration only if inorganic phosphate is included in the incubation mixture. Pyridoxal phosphate, phosphoamino acids or other phospho-compounds are incapable to promote the conversion of b form to a form of ODC. These data suggest that purine-analogues may be the in vivo physiological regulators of ODC of T. pyriformis.