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The polyamines are organic compounds having two or more primary amino groups - such as putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine, and spermine - that are growth factors in both eucaryotic and procaryotic cells. Though it is known that polyamines are synthesized in cells via highly-regulated pathways, their actual function is not entirely clear. As cations, they bind to DNA, and, in structure, they represent compounds with cations that are found at regularly-spaced intervals (unlike, say, Mg++ or Ca++, which are point charges).