Putrescine Depletion in Parasites Causes Immediate Proliferation Arrest Followed by an Apoptosis-like Cell Death.

The polyamine pathway in parasites has emerged as a promising target for therapeutic intervention, yet the functions of polyamines in parasites remain largely unexplored. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and spermidine synthase (SPDSYN) catalyze the sequential conversion of ornithine to putrescine and spermidine. We previously found that Δ and Δ mutants exhibit markedly reduced growth in vitro and diminished infectivity in mice, with the effect being most pronounced in putrescine-depleted Δ mutants.