alpha-Difluoromethylornithine does not bind to ornithine decarboxylase-antizyme complex

alpha-Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) has been widely used for determining the amounts of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) in cells. However, we have now found that DFMO does not react with ODC-antizyme complex, indicating that the amounts of radioactive DFMO bound to the protein may not reflect the amounts of ODC in crude tissue extracts.