85 Acta Pharmaceutica Sciencia. Vol. 56 No. 2, 2018 Polyamine Metabolism and Obesity: Polyamine Metabolic Enzymes Involved in Obesity Acta Pharm. Sci. Vol 56 No: 2. 2018 DOI: 10.23893/1307-2080.APS.05613 Nihal Büyükuslu 1 *, Rabia İclal Öztürk 1 1 Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey *Corresponding author: Nihal Büyükuslu, e-mail: nbuyukuslu@medipol.edu.tr (Received 06 March 2018, accepted 28 March 2018) ABSTRACT The natural polyamines, putrescine, spermidine and spermine are distributed widely in all cells including adipocytes. They are involved in several physiologi- cal processes involving gene expression and cell proliferation. The body pool of polyamines is maintained by endogenous biosynthesis, intestinal microorganisms and the diet. A correlation between fat metabolism and polyamine metabolism has been reported in several studies. It was shown that the inhibition of polyamine metabolism enzymes had been associated with increased adipose tissue and weight gain in human and animal models. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and S-adeno- sylmethionine decarboxylase (AdoMetDC) are anabolic enzymes; and spermidine/ spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) and polyamine oxidase (PAO) are catabolic enzymes which regulate polyamine homoeostasis. Genetically altered polyamine metabolic enzymes resulted in higher tissue adipose content and weight gain in- dicating potential links between obesity and polyamine metabolism. This review aims to provide details on previously reported sources of data published on poly- amine metabolism and obesity. Key words: Polyamine, obesity, ornithine decarboxylase, S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase, polyamine oxidase INTRODUCTION Putrescine, spermidine and spermine are the natural amines distributed widely in all cells including adipocytes. They are involved in several physiological pro- cesses such as DNA stabilization, regulation of gene expression, ion channel function and cell proliferation. 1 The aim of this review is to evaluate the relation- ship between polyamine metabolic enzymes and lipid metabolism to shed light on the treatment of obesity.