Serum levels of polyamines in patients with chronic renal failure.

Serum levels of total putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine and spermine were measured in 10 normal subjects, 11 nondialyzed patients with chronic renal failure, and 25 patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. The measurement of the serum levels of four polyamines was done with high-performance cation-exchange chromatographic separation and fluorometric detection using o-phtalaldehyde. In normal subjects, the serum levels of putrescine and spermine were 0.24 +/- 0.09 and 0.20 +/- 0.05 nmoles/ml. In patients with chronic renal failure, the levels of polyamines were obtained in the order of putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine, and spermine: 0.51 +/- 0.15; 0.05 +/- 0.01; 0.34 +/- 0.08; and 0.05 +/- 0.04 nmoles/ml. In dialyzed patients, predialysis values of polyamines in the same order as above were: 0.88 +/- 0.31; 0.12 +/- 0.10; 0.67 +/- 0.31; and 0.09 +/- 0.08 nmoles/ml. The results show that, compared to normal subjects, the serum levels of all four polyamines are significantly elevated either in nondialyzed patients with chronic renal failure or in dialyzed patients. In dialyzed patients, the postdialysis putrescine and spermidine levels are significantly low. Serum levels of putrescine and spermidine are both significantly correlated with serum urea nitrogen and serum creatinine in a combined group of normal subjects and patients with chronic renal failure. In dialyzed patients, none of the four polyamine serum levels show correlations either with serum urea nitrogen or serum creatinine; with hematocrit, only spermine exhibits a correlationship, whereas other polyamines do not.