Global gene expression profiling of the polyamine system in suicide completers

In recent years, gene expression, genetic association, and metabolic studies have implicated the polyamine system in psychiatric conditions, including suicide. Given the extensive regulation of genes involved in polyamine metabolism, as well as their interconnections with the metabolism of other amino acids, we were interested in further investigating the expression of polyamine-related genes across the brain in order to obtain a more comprehensive view of the dysregulation of this system in suicide. To this end, we examined the expression of genes related to polyamine metabolism across 22 brain regions in a sample of 29 mood-disordered suicide completers and 16 controls, and identified 14 genes displaying differential expression. Among these, altered expression of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase, spermine oxidase, and spermine synthase, has previously been observed in brains of suicide completers, while the remainder of the genes represent novel findings. In addition to genes with direct involvement in polyamine metabolism, including S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, ornithine decarboxylase antizymes 1 and 2, and arginase II, we identified altered expression of several more distally related genes, including aldehyde dehydrogenase 3 family, member A2, brain creatine kinase, mitochondrial creatine kinase 1, glycine amidinotransferase, glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase 1, and arginyl-tRNA synthetase-like. Many of these genes displayed altered expression across several brain regions, strongly implying that dysregulated polyamine metabolism is a widespread phenomenon in the brains of suicide completers. This study provides a broader view of the nature and extent of the dysregulation of the polyamine system in suicide, and highlights the importance of this system in the neurobiology of suicide.

Skin fibroblasts from spermine synthase-deficient hemizygous gyro male (Gy/Y) mice overproduce spermidine and exhibit increased resistance to oxidative stress but decreased resistance to UV irradiation

Hemizygous gyro male (Gy/Y) mice are a model for X-linked hypophosphataemic rickets. As in humans, the disease is caused by deletions in the Phex gene, a phosphate-regulating gene having homologies with endopeptidases on the X chromosome. Some phenotypic abnormalities in Gy/Y mice have recently been attributed to the fact that the Gy deletion also includes the neighbouring spermine synthase gene, resulting in spermine deficiency. Spermine and its precursors spermidine and putrescine are essential for cell growth and differentiation. As a novel method for studying the function of spermine, we established primary cultures of skin fibroblasts from hemizygous Gy/Y mice. The Gy/Y cells contained no detectable spermine. In view of the fact that spermine is a free-radical scavenger in vitro, we were surprised to find that Gy/Y cells were more resistant to oxidative stress than their normal (X/Y) counterparts. However, our finding that spermidine accumulates markedly in the spermine-deficient Gy/Y cells can probably explain this increased resistance. It is the first indication that spermidine can serve as a free-radical scavenger in vivo and not only in vitro. When subjecting the Gy/Y cells to UV-C irradiation we made another interesting finding: the mutant cells were more sensitive than the normal X/Y cells. This finding indicates that spermine, probably because of its high-affinity binding to DNA, is important in protection against chromatin damage.

ACAULIS5, an Arabidopsis gene required for stem elongation, encodes a spermine synthase

Polyamines have been implicated in a wide range of biological processes, including growth and development in bacteria and animals, but their function in higher plants is unclear. Here we show that the Arabidopsis: ACAULIS5 (ACL5) gene, whose inactivation causes a defect in the elongation of stem internodes by reducing cell expansion, encodes a protein that shares sequence similarity with the polyamine biosynthetic enzymes spermidine synthase and spermine synthase. Expression of the recombinant ACL5 protein in Escherichia coli showed that ACL5 possesses spermine synthase activity. Restoration of the acl5 mutant phenotype by somatic reversion of a transposon-induced allele suggests a non-cell-autonomous function for the ACL5 gene product. We also found that expression of the ACL5 cDNA under the control of a heat shock gene promoter in acl5 mutant plants restores the phenotype in a heat shock-dependent manner. The results of the experiments showed that polyamines play an essential role in promotion of internode elongation through cell expansion in Arabidopsis: We discuss the relationships to plant growth regulators such as auxin and gibberellins that have related functions.