A new simple enzymatic assay method for urinary polyamines in humans.

We developed a new simple enzymatic assay method for measuring urinary polyamines (total amount of putrescine, spermidine, and cadaverine), using an acylpolyamine amidohydrolase and a putrescine oxidase. First conjugated polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and cadaverine) in urine were hydrolyzed by incubation with an acylpolyamine amidohydrolase at 30 degrees for 1 hr. then, free polyamines were separated by cation-exchange chromatography and incubated with a putrescine oxidase at 30 degrees for 30 min. Hydrogen peroxide formed in this reaction was measured spectrophotometrically (at 514 nm). Polyamine levels in urine were determined in 70 normal subjects, 124 patients with cancer, and 52 patients with diseases other than cancer. Elevation above 3 S.D.s of the normal mean was found in 90 (72.6%) of the 124 patients with cancer and in 6 (11.5%) of the 52 patients with diseases other than cancer. Serial studies in 19 patients with cancer indicated that polyamines in urine were reduced after successful surgery. Our new method is simple and rapid and therefore very useful for routine clinical application. Moreover, our data indicate that the determination of polyamine levels is useful as a marker of disease activity in patients with cancer.