Getting 5-Fluorouracil (5-Fu)
5-Fluorouracil ( Fluorouracil ®, Efudex®, Fluoroplex ®) was synthesized by Robert Duschinsky at the end of the 1950s. Since uracil is a common component of RNA, the appropriateness of the drugs was that the cancer cells due to their increased genetic instability should be more sensitive to the molecules ‘traps’, similar to natural molecules of normal cells. The aim of the study, in this case was to develop a drug that would have demonstrated a specific antagonism towards uracil. The resulting product confirmed its anticancer properties.
The mechanism of action of 5-Fluorouracil
5-Fu – a widely used antagonist of pyrimidines. Like the other pyrimidine antagonists, 5-Fluorouracil resembles the structure of the normal molecule. It functions as an inhibitor of DNA synthesis both by blocking the formation of normal pyrimidine nucleotides by inhibiting the enzyme, and by engaging in DNA synthesis after turning into a growing DNA molecule. Structure of the normal pyrimidine bases and 5-Fluorouracil are shown below.
More activity of 5-Fluorouracil
Antogonisty pyrimidines, switch on, instead of uracil, such as 5-Fluorouracil , are not only able to influence the synthesis of DNA, but also block the synthesis of RNA. RNA molecules are formed in the process of transcription, described in detail in the “transcription”. transcription. The messenger RNA (mRNA) are the matrix for the synthesis of proteins necessary for cell activity. 5-Fu, blocking the formation of RNA, can induce cell death. Studies have also shown that 5-Fluorouracil affects the synthesis and other forms of RNA such as ribosomal RNA (rRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA) and small nuclear RNAs (myaRNK).
And 5-Fluorouracil can inhibit the growth of cells, disrupting the biosynthesis of thymine nucleotides by uracil.
