Endocrine regulation of thymic biosynthetic polyamine decarboxylases in adult rat

The activities of ornithine and S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase were assayed in the thymuses of adult rats killed at 7-day intervals up to 6 wk after either pinealectomy or sham pinealectomy. The absence of the pineal gland markedly influenced the ornithine decarboxylase activity in the thymus, in which the level of the enzyme was decreased permanently by the 4th wk after the operation (P less than 0.05). The time course of the changes in S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase activity in the thymus during the entire period investigated was also significantly (P less than 0.05) modified by pinealectomy but did not show any stable trend. Adrenalectomy significantly raised (P less than 0.001) for ornithine decarboxylase; P less than 0.01 for S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase) the basal levels of the thymic biosynthetic polyamine decarboxylases. A pharmacological dose of corticosterone or cortisol produced a rapid and significant decrease in ornithine and S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase activities (P less than 0.02) in the thymus, whereas the injection of either D-aldosterone or ACTH was ineffective. Therefore, the thymic biosynthetic polyamine decarboxylases that in this organ are known to be located only in the lymphocytes appear to be regulated in opposing ways by the pineal gland and by the adrenal cortex.