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Encyclopedia > Antimetabolite

An antimetabolite is a chemical with a similar structure to a substance (a metabolite) required for normal biochemical reactions, yet different enough to interfere with the normal functions of cells, including cell division. A metabolite is the product of metabolism. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Contents

Function

Cancer treatment

Antimetabolites can be used in cancer treatment, as they interfere with DNA production and therefore cell division and the growth of tumors. Because cancer cells spend more time dividing than other cells, inhibiting cell division harms tumor cells more than other cells. Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ...


Anti-metabolites masquerade as purine (azathioprine, mercaptopurine) or pyrimidine - which become the building blocks of DNA. They prevent these substances becoming incorporated in to DNA during the S phase (of the cell cycle), stopping normal development and division. Purine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, consisting of a pyrimidine ring fused to an imidazole ring. ... Azathioprine is a chemotherapy drug, now rarely used for chemotherapy but more for immunosuppression in organ transplantation, autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohns disease. ... Mercaptopurine: chemical structure Mercaptopurine (also called 6-MP or by its brand name Purinethol®) is an immunosuppressive drug used to treat leukemia. ... Pyrimidine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound similar to benzene and pyridine, containing two nitrogen atoms at positions 1 and 3 of the six-member ring [1]. It is isomeric with two other forms of diazine. ... DNA replication. ... The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that take place in an eukaryotic cell between its formation and the moment it replicates itself. ...


They also affect RNA synthesis. However, because thymidine is used in DNA but not in RNA (where uracil is used instead), inhibition of thymidine sythesis via thymidylate synthase selectively inhibits DNA synthesis over RNA synthesis. The chemical structure of deoxythymidine Thymidine (more precisely called deoxythymidine can also be labelled deoxyribosylthymine, and thymine deoxyriboside) is a chemical compound, more precisely a pyrimidine deoxynucleoside. ... Uracil is a pyrimidine which is common and naturally occurring. ... Thymidylate synthase is the enzyme used to generate thymidine monophosphate (dTMP), which is subsequently phosphorylated to thymidine triphosphate for use in DNA synthesis. ...


Due to their efficiency, these drugs are the most widely used cytostatics. Chemotherapy is the use of chemical substances to treat disease. ...


In the ATC system, they are classified under L01B. The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System is used for the classification of drugs. ... A section of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System. ...


Antibiotics

Antimetabolites may also be antibiotics, such as sulfanilamide drugs, which inhibit dihydrofolate synthesis in bacteria by competing with para-aminobenzoic acid.[1] An antibiotic is a drug that kills or slows the growth of bacteria. ... Sulfonamides, also known as sulfa drugs, are synthetic antimicrobial agents derived from sulfonic acid. ... Dihydrofolic acid is a folic acid derivative acted upon by dihydrofolate reductase. ... Para-Aminobenzoic acid (PABA) is a chemical used in sunscreen that is an essential nutrient for some bacteria. ...


Types

Main representatives of these drugs are:


Folic acid analogues

Purine analogues

  • Azathioprine is the main immunosuppressive cytotoxic substance. It is widely used in transplantations to control rejection reactions. It is nonenzymatically cleaved to 6-mercaptopurine that acts as a purine analogue and an inhibitor of DNA synthesis. By preventing the clonal expansion of lymphocytes in the induction phase of the immune response, it affects both the cell and the humoral immunity. It also successfully suppresses autoimmunity.
  • Mercaptopurine
  • Thioguanine is used to treat acute leukemias and induction of remissions in acute granulocytic leukemias
  • Fludarabine inhibits function of multiple DNA polymerases, DNA primase, DNA ligase I and is S phase-specific (since these enzymes are highly active during DNA replication).
  • Pentostatin and cladribine are adenosine analogs which are primarily used to treat Hairy cell leukemia.

Pyrimidine analogues

See also

A base analog is a chemical that can substitute a normal nucleobase in nucleic acids. ...

External links

Seal of the University of Nebraska The University of Nebraska is one of two public university systems in the state of Nebraska, USA. The system has four universities and a technical college: University of Nebraska-Lincoln University of Nebraska at Omaha University of Nebraska at Kearney University of Nebraska Medical...

References

  1. ^ "The Organic Chemistry of Drug Design and Drug Action" (2nd edition), R. B. Silverman, 2004.

  Results from FactBites:
 
Antimetabolite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (335 words)
An antimetabolite is a chemical with a similar structure to a substance (a metabolite) required for normal biochemical reactions, yet different enough to interfere with the normal functions of cells, including cell division.
Antimetabolites can be used in cancer treatment, as they interfere with DNA production and therefore cell division and the growth of tumors.
Antimetabolites may also be antibiotics, such as sulfanilamide drugs, which inhibit dihydrofolate synthesis in bacteria by competing with para-aminobenzoic acid.
2004 OPTN/SRTR Annual Report: Chapter IV - Immunosuppression: Evolution in Practice and Trends (6441 words)
Antimetabolites and sirolimus: Though antimetabolite use overall is still frequent for lung transplant recipients during the first posttransplant year, the proportion of patients on mycophenolate mofetil versus azathioprine continues to change.
Antimetabolites and sirolimus: Antimetabolite usage is still quite common among heart-lung transplant recipients (79% in 2003), with azathioprine used in 47% of cases and mycophenolate mofetil in 32% of cases in 2003.
Antimetabolites and sirolimus: Again, as with heart and lung transplantation, antimetabolites are frequently used as part of the immunosuppressive protocol and were used for 95% of heart-lung recipients in 2002.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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