Metabolism of acetylpolyamines by monoamine oxidase, diamine oxidase and polyamine oxidase.

N1-Monoacetylspermine, N1,N12-diacetylspermine and N1-monoacetylspermidine were found to be good substrates for rat liver polyamine oxidase, but not for rat liver mitochondrial monoamine oxidase. N8-Monoacetylspermidine, monoacetylcadaverine, monoacetylputrescine and monoacetyl-1,3-diaminopropane were oxidized by the monoamine oxidase when the substrate concentration was 10.0 mM, but not by the polyamine oxidase. All the acetylpolyamines except N1,N12-diacetylspermine were also oxidized by hog kidney diamine oxidase although their affinities for the oxidase appeared low. The present data suggest that acetylpolyamines are not easily metabolized in vivo by either monoamine oxidase or diamine oxidase in mammalian tissues although N1-monoacetylspermine, N1,N12-diacetylspermine and N1-monoacetylspermidine are attacked by polyamine oxidase.