Dactinomycin

Dactinomycin, often called Actinomycin D®, one of the early trade names for this drug, is an antibiotic with inhibitory effects on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria that works by inhibiting RNA polymerase. It is often used to study molecular biology because of this property but seldom for the treatment of bacterial infections due to its cytotoxic properties. However, the antineoplastic effects of the actinomycins make them useful for the treatment of some cancers, including Wilm's tumor, Ewing's sarcoma, testicular cancer and rhabdomyosarcoma as part of a combination chemotherapy.

Chemistry

The IUPAC chemical name for dactinomycin is 2-amino-4,6-dimethyl-3-oxo-N,N'-bis[7,11,14-trimethyl-2,5,9,12,15-pentaoxo-3,10-di(propan-2-yl)-8-oxa-1,4,11,14-tetrazabicyclo[14.3.0]nonadecan-6-yl]phenoxazine-1,9-dicarboxamide, and its chemical formula, C₆₂H₈₆N₁₂O₁₆, gives it an atomic mass of 1255.4170 g/mol. It is registered under CAS number 50-76-0. It is comprised of 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.

Synonyms and brand names

Although dactinomycin is often called Actinomycin D, an early registered trademark for this drug, the INN-recommended names are dactinomycin (English), dactinomicina (Spanish), dactinomycine (French) and dactinomycinum (Latin). It is sold under many tradenames.

Trade names

• ACT®
• ACT D®
• ACTINOMYCIN D®
• ACTO-D®
• Actactinomycin a Iv®
• Actinomycin 11 Cosmegen®
• Actinomycin 7®
• Actinomycin Aiv®
• Actinomycin C1®
• Actinomycin I®
• Actinomycin I1®
• Actinomycin Iv®
• Actinomycin X 1®
• Actinomycindioic D Acid, Dilactone®
• Chounghwamycin B®
• Cosmegen®
• Dactinomycin D®
• Dilactone Actinomycin D Acid®
• Dilactone Actinomycindioic D Acid®
• HBF 386 Meractinomycin®
• Lyovac Cosmegen®
• Meractinomycin®
• Oncostatin K®
• Oxamide®

References

The most up-to-date information about Dactinomycin and other drugs can be found at the following sites.

• Dactinomycin - FDA approved drug information (drug label) from DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine).
• Dactinomycin - Drug information for consumers from MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine).
• Dactinomycin - Detailed information from DrugBank.