Antibiotic
dactinomycin Audio
[ dak-tuh-noh-mahy-sin ]
Brand Names:
Cosmegen
Effect:
Decreased DNA Integrity; Decreased Protein Synthesis; Decreased RNA Integrity
May Treat:
Choriocarcinoma; Gestational Trophoblastic Disease; Melanoma; Neuroblastoma; Retinoblastoma; Rhabdomyosarcoma; Sarcoma, Ewing; Sarcoma, Kaposi; Soft Tissue Neoplasms; Testicular Neoplasms; Uterine Neoplasms; Wilms Tumor
More Information:
ChemID; DrugBank; DailyMed; DrugInfo; PDR
Definitions related to dactinomycin:
  • A chromopeptide antineoplastic antibiotic isolated from the bacterium Streptomyces parvulus. Dactinomycin intercalates between adjacent guanine-cytosine base pairs, blocking the transcription of DNA by RNA polymerase; it also causes single-strand DNA breaks, possibly via a free-radical intermediate or an interaction with topoisomerase II. (NCI04)
    NCI Thesaurus
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • A compound composed of a two CYCLIC PEPTIDES attached to a phenoxazine that is derived from STREPTOMYCES parvullus. It binds to DNA and inhibits RNA synthesis (transcription), with chain elongation more sensitive than initiation, termination, or release. As a result of impaired mRNA production, protein synthesis also declines after dactinomycin therapy. (From AMA Drug Evaluations Annual, 1993, p2015)
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
  • An anticancer drug that is a type of antitumor antibiotic.
    NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
Try this search on: Farlex, Merriam-Webster, Oxford Dictionary, or Wordnik

This content should not be used in place of medically-reviewed decision support reference material or professional medical advice. Some terms may have alternate or updated definitions not reflected in this set. The definitions on this page should not be considered complete or up to date.