Abstract
There is considerable evidence supporting a role of the polyamine system in the etiology and pathology of mental disorders. Changes in the expression and activity of polyamine anabolic/catabolic enzymes, as well as in the levels of individual polyamines, have been found in many psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety, and suicidal behavior. Recent microarray studies have found that spermidine/spermine-N 1-acetyltransferase (SAT1, SSAT), the key enzyme in charge of the polyamine catabolic pathway, is downregulated in brain tissue of individuals who were depressed and died by suicide. To provide further insight into the downstream effects of altered SAT1 expression, we developed a quantitative gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for measurement of polyamine concentrations in postmortem human brain tissues. This protocol employs a conventional electron ionization method with total ion and selected ion monitoring. This method can accurately measure the levels of the polyamines putrescine, spermidine, and spermine from very small quantities (1–50 mg) of postmortem brain tissues, with quantitation limits down to10 ng/g of wet tissue for putrescine and 100 ng/g for spermidine and spermine.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Casero RA, Pegg AE (2009) Polyamine catabolism and disease. Biochem J 421:323–338
Igarashi K, Kashiwagi K (2010) Modulation of cellular function by polyamines. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 42:39–51 (originally published online 9 July 2009, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocel.2009.07.009)
Pegg AE (2009) Mammalian polyamine metabolism and function. IUBMB Life 61:880–894
Casero RA Jr, Marton LJ (2007) Targeting polyamine metabolism and function in cancer and other hyperproliferative diseases. Nat Rev Drug Discov 6:373–390
Pegg AE (2008) Spermidine/spermine-N(1)-acetyltransferase: a key metabolic regulator. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 294:E995–E1010
Sequeira A, Gwadry FG, Ffrench-Mullen JM, Canetti L, Gingras Y, Casero RA Jr et al (2006) Implication of SSAT by gene expression and genetic variation in suicide and major depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 63:35–48
Fiori LM, Turecki G (2008) Implication of the polyamine system in mental disorders. J Psychiatry Neurosci 33:102–110
Wallace HM, Fraser AV, Hughes A (2003) A perspective of polyamine metabolism. Biochem J 376:1–14
Sequeira A, Klempan T, Canetti L, ffrench-Mullen J, Benkelfat C, Rouleau GA et al (2007) Patterns of gene expression in the limbic system of suicides with and without major depression. Mol Psychiatry 12:640–655
Klempan TA, Rujescu D, Merette C, Himmelman C, Sequeira A, Canetti L et al (2009) Profiling brain expression of the spermidine/spermine N(1)-acetyltransferase 1 (SAT1) gene in suicide. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 150B:934–943
Gilad GM, Gilad VH, Casanova MF, Casero RA Jr (1995) Polyamines and their metabolizing enzymes in human frontal cortex and hippocampus: preliminary measurements in affective disorders. Biol Psychiatry 38:227–234
Wood PL, Khan MA, Moskal JR (2006) Neurochemical analysis of amino acids, polyamines and carboxylic acids: GC-MS quantitation of tBDMS derivatives using ammonia positive chemical ionization. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 831:313–319
Chen GG, Turecki G, Mamer OA (2009) A quantative GC-MS method for three major polyamines in post-mortem brain cortex. J Mass Spectrom 44:1203–1210
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a Canadian Institutes for Health Research grant to GT (MOP-79253).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Chen, G.G., Fiori, L.M., Mamer, O.A., Turecki, G. (2011). High-Resolution Capillary Gas Chromatography in Combination with Mass Spectrometry for Quantification of Three Major Polyamines in Postmortem Brain Cortex. In: Pegg, A., Casero, Jr., R. (eds) Polyamines. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 720. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-034-8_27
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-034-8_27
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-033-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-034-8
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols