REGIONAL AND CELLULAR-DISTRIBUTION OF SPERMIDINE SPERMINE N-1-ACETYLTRANSFERASE (SSAT) MESSENGER-RNA IN THE RAT CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM/

Spermidine/spermine N-1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) is the key enzyme res ponsible for polyamine interconversion. SSAT mRNA (visualized by in si tu hybridization histochemistry) was shown to have a wide but heteroge neous distribution in the central nervous system (CNS) at both regiona l and cellular levels. The highest labelling was observed in hippocamp us (pyramidal and polymorph neurons) and olfactory bulb. Present data suggest that polyamine metabolism in the CNS is not homogeneous but ra ther that the preferential production of a polyamine species is region - and cell type-specific.