Catabolism and lability of S-adenosyl-L-methionine in rat liver extracts

The fate of S-adenosyl-L-methionine was studied in rat liver extracts by analysing the distribution of radioactivity from labelled adenosylmethionine in decomposition products, which were separated from each other by chromatographic and electrophoretic means. Marked non-enzymic degradation to adenine, pentosylmethionine, methylthioadenosine and homoserine was evident at pH 6.9-7.8. Enzymic cleavage to methylthioadenosine was stoichiometric with the accumulation of spermidine and could be totally prevented by inhibiting S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase. The results rule out the existence of adenosylmethionine cyclotransferase in rat liver and indicate that only two quantitatively significant enzymic processes are involved in hepatic adenosylmethionine degradation. Excluding nonenzymic decomposition, more than 99% of adenosylmethionine is demethylated and exclusively catabolized further by S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase. Less than 1% of adenosylmethionine is decarboxylated and immediately utilized totally for polyamine biosynthesis.