Lack of inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase activity by ibuprofen

The influence of the anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen on the activity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC, EC 4.1.1.17), the key enzyme of polyamine synthesis, was studied using a 20,000 g supernatant of rat testis and regenerating liver homogenates as sources of the enzyme. Ibuprofen, in all concentrations studied (10(-6) to 2 x 10(-3) M), did not influence either testicular or hepatic ODC activity in vitro. The role of ODC in inflammatory processes and the lack of ODC inhibition by ibuprofen are discussed in view of the controversial findings of other authors.