MODIFIED RESPONSES TO PGE₂ IN POLYAMINE BIOSYNTHESIS BY T LYMPHOCYTES OF GASTRIC- AND CONJUNCTIVA BASAL CELL-CARCINOMA PATIENTS

Abstract

The response to Prostaglandin (PG) E₂ of T cells from gastric carcinoma (GC)- and conjunctiva-basal cell carcinoma (conjunctiva-BCC)-bearing patients has been studied in relation to polyamine metabolism. Polyamines are crucial cofactors in cell growth as well as differentiation and many works report that lymphocyte spermine (SP), spermidine (SPD) and putrescine (PUT) levels may be related to tumor proliferation. The present work aims to detect the basal and PGE₂ induced concentrations of these polyamines and cAMP, ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SAT) activities of T lymphocytes drawn from patients suffering from GC and conjunctiva-BCC since many carcinomas are characterized by high levels of PGE₂. Data obtained from lymphocytes of neoplastic subjects were compared with those derived from PGE₂-treated control lymphocytes. Results highlight a very significant increase of all the polyamine metabolites in PGE₂-treated T cells from neoplastic patients in respect to the untreated and PGE₂-treated control lymphocytes. Therefore, it is conceivable that the PGE₂ content increase, often occurring during the epithelial tumour development, may contribute, through enhancement of polyamine metabolism, to tumor progression.