Radiochemical estimation of serum polyamine oxidase activity in human pregnancy
Morgan, D.M.; Illei, G.
Medical Laboratory Sciences 38(1): 49-56
1981
ISSN/ISBN: 0308-3616 PMID: 7266276 Document Number: 180661
A method is presented for estimation of polyamine oxidase activity in human serum in which the sample is incubated with 14C-labeled polyamine and, after deproteinization with trichloracetic acid, products are separated from unreacted substrate by chromatography on a strong cation exchange resin. The radioactivity in each fraction is then determined by liquid scintillation counting. Product formation is linear with amount of sample (10-100 .mu.l) and incubation time (up to 90 min). Triplicate assays of 30 sera gave a within-batch coefficient of variation of 7% (range 196-344 nmol/min per l, SD 19.7). Serum polyamine oxidase activity was found to increase significantly with time and showed an approximately linear trend from the 10th wk of pregnancy onwards, although there was considerable individual variation. No activity was found in male sera and only very low activity in sera from non-pregnant females of reproductive age.