actinomycinn.
/ˌaktᵻnə(ʊ)ˈmʌɪsɪn/, U.S. /ˌæktənəˈmaɪsᵻn/ Biochemistry and Pharmacology.
Any of a group of substances with antibiotic and antineoplastic properties originally isolated from soil-dwelling microorganisms (actinomycetes) of the genus Streptomyces (formerly Actinomyces).Actinomycins were the first antibiotics to be isolated from soil bacteria. Their structure contains two peptide loops attached to a planar ring system, which binds to DNA and inhibits its transcription. The most important is actinomycin D, which is used in chemotherapy and biological research.
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the world > life > biology > substance > process stimulators or inhibitors > antibiotic > [noun]
actinomycin1940
claviformin1942
antibiotic1944
bacteriocin1954
gentamicin1963
rishitin1968
magainin1987
1940 S. A. Waksman & H. B. Woodruff in Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med. 45 610 The active substance was tentatively designated as ‘actinomycin’. It is proposed here to designate the above two preparations as ‘actinomycin A’ and ‘actinomycin B’.
1944 Ann. Reg. 1943 359 Actinomycin is bactericidal but lethal to animals.
1946 Lancet 20 Apr. 582/1 Other fungus-products—streptomycin, streptothricin, actinomycin, and clavacin.
1962 S. A. Waksman & H. A. Lechevalier Actinomycetes III. a. ii. 13 We understood the concept of antibiosis, but we did not foresee the potentialities of actinomycin as an antitumor agent.
1982 J. P. Goggin in L. S. Cermak Human Memory & Amnesia xi. 220 Antibiotics, such as puromycin and actinomycin-D,..enable the experimenter to block temporarily the synthesis of proteins or RNA.
2000 J. Dome in R. G. Steen & J. Mirro Childhood Cancer xxxix. 396 Vincristine and actinomycin D are used alone for patients with low-stage disease [sc. Wilms tumour].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1940