Review Volume 3, Issue 8 pp 716—732

Figure 3. Summary of the cellular mechanisms of action of polyamines. Upon entering the cell, polyamines exhibit various functions in the cytoplasm, nucleus and mitochondria. Polyamines are involved in the regulation of cell death and cell proliferation as well as in protein synthesis at the level of both gene expression and translation. Recent evidence also assigned polyamines functions in cell reprogramming and autophagy regulation. Thus, polyamines are involved in a broad array of processes and cellular responses that suggest a complex and important role in the control of cellular life and death. PT: permeability transition; Δψm: mitochondrial membrane potential.