Ha H C, Sirisoma N S, Kuppusamy P, Zweier J L, Woster P M, Casero R A
Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 Sep 15;95(19):11140-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.95.19.11140.
The polyamines are small organic cations that are absolutely required for eukaryotic cell growth. Although their growth requirements are well established, the molecular functions of the polyamines are ill-defined. Oxidative damage to DNA by reactive oxygen species is a continual problem that cells must guard against to survive. The polyamine spermine, which is normally found in millimolar concentrations in the nucleus, is shown here to function directly as a free radical scavenger, and adducts formed as a result of this function are identified. These data suggest that spermine is a major natural intracellular compound capable of protecting DNA from free radical attack.
多胺是真核细胞生长绝对必需的小分子有机阳离子。尽管它们的生长需求已得到充分证实,但多胺的分子功能仍不明确。活性氧对DNA的氧化损伤是细胞为了生存必须防范的一个持续存在的问题。通常在细胞核中以毫摩尔浓度存在的多胺精胺,在此被证明可直接作为自由基清除剂发挥作用,并鉴定了由此作用形成的加合物。这些数据表明精胺是一种主要的天然细胞内化合物,能够保护DNA免受自由基攻击。