CHANGES IN ORNITHINE DECARBOXYLASE ACTIVITY IN RAT INTESTINES DURING AGING

  • 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 36  (9) , 3312-3316
Abstract
The ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity of rat intestines, liver and brain varies dramatically as animals develop and age. Unusually high activity was present in the small intestines of adult animals. The ODC activity of the small intestines approximated that of fetal tissues and of regenerating rat liver. Putrescine, spermine, and spermidine levels of fetal and adult animal tissues were determined. In all tissues but the stomach mucosa, high putrescine levels correlated with high ODC activity. The total polyamine concentrations of the stomach and colon could not be correlated with ODC levels, and no simple relationship between polyamine levels or ODC levels and cellular proliferation in the gut was found.

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