Abstract
The differential response to polyamine depletion has been studied in two types of human lung tumor cells. Small cell lung carcinoma cells die following polymaine depletion by difluoromethylornithine treatment while non-small cell lines demonstrate a typical cytostatic response. We now report that a small cell line, NCI H82, has a lower apparent capacity for polyamine biosynthesis than does a representative non-small cell, NCI H157. In subconfluent cultures, the ornithine decarboxylase activity is 25 times lower in the small cell than the non-small cell and by comparison, the polyamines in the small cell line are markedly reduced. Most significantly, levels of mRNA coding for ornithine decarboxylase are approximately 100-fold lower in the small cell than the non-small cell line, and this difference does not appear to be a result of gene rearrangement. These results suggest that differential sensitivity to polyamine depletion is related to different steady-state levels of ornithine decarboxylase mRNA.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 572-579 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications |
Volume | 134 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 29 1986 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology