Abstract
Spermidine undergoes three different metabolic reactions in mammalian tissues. It can be converted to spermine by the addition of an aminopropyl group, or it can be acetylated on either of the terminal nitrogens using acetyl-coenzyme A as the acetyl donor (1). Acetylation on the terminal nitrogen adjacent to the 3-carbon chain is termed N 1-acetylation and is catalyzed by a cytoplasmic enzyme, spermidine/spermine N 1-acetyltransferase (2). This N 1-acetylspermidine is converted by polyamine oxidase to putrescine, the normal precursor for spermidine. Thus, N 1-acetylation serves as the initial step in the conversion of spermidine to putrescine.
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© 1998 Humana Press Inc.
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Blankenship, J. (1998). Assay of Spermidine N 8-Acetyltransferase. In: Morgan, D.M.L. (eds) Polyamine Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 79. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/0-89603-448-8:69
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/0-89603-448-8:69
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-0-89603-448-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-565-5
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