Spermine specifically inhibits the phosphorylation of an 11,000-dalton nuclear protein in various cultured mammalian cell lines.

The effect of polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) on endogenous protein phosphorylation in mouse neuroblastoma cells was investigated by using techniques of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. The results indicated that spermine at 1mM completely inhibited the phosphorylation of the 11,000-dalton and 120,000-dalton proteins in nuclear fractions. The inhibition of the phosphorylation of the 11,000-dalton but not the 120,000-dalton protein by spermine was also observed in five other cell lines examined and appeared to be a general phenomenon. The inhibitory effect of spermine on the phosphorylation of the 11,000-dalton protein was specific, other cations such as ammonium chloride, arginine, putrescine, cyclen and trien were ineffective at equal molar or much higher concentrations.