Mass fragmentographic identification of polyamine metabolites in the urine of normal persons and cancer patients, and its relevance to the use of polyamines as tumour markers
van den Berg, G.A.; Nagel, G.T.; Muskiet, F.A.; Halie, M.R.
Journal of Chromatography 339(2): 223-231
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-9673 PMID: 4008565 Document Number: 250180
The mass fragmentographic identification of N-(2-carboxyethyl)-4-amino-n-butyric acid, N-(3-aminopropyl)-N'-(2-carboxyethyl)-1,4-diaminobutane, N,N'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-1,4-diaminobutane and .delta.-aminovaleric acid in acid-hydrolyzed urines of a normal person and 2 cancer patients was described. A previous study, in which the metabolic fate of i.p. injected polyamines in rats was investigated, revealed that these compounds should be considered as non-.alpha.-amino acid metabolites of the naturally occurring polyamines. Quantification of polyamines and their non-.alpha.-amino acid metabolites by gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection showed that, relative to the parent polyamines, humans normally excrete higher quantities of polyamine catabolites in urine than rats, suggesting that humans catabolize polyamines more efficiently. As illustrated by the follow-up of the concentrations of polyamines and their catabolites in the urine of a patient with high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma during chemotherapy, the catabolic pressure on polyamines may be considerably increased during neoplastic diseases, since an even higher proportion of oxidized polyamine metabolites was observed. It is therefore suggested that the additional measurement of the circulating concentrations of polyamine-degrading enzymes is of importance for the correct interpretation of polyamine (metabolite) determinations for oncological purposes.