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Polyglutamate camptothecin
Pronunciation
Definition 1
A form of the anticancer drug camptothecin that may have fewer side effects and work better than camptothecin. It is being studied in the treatment of cancer. It is a type of DNA topoisomerase inhibitor. Also called CT-2106. (NCI Dictionary)
Definition 2
A therapeutic formulation consisting of camptothecin, an alkaloid isolated from the Chinese tree Camptotheca acuminata, conjugated with polyglutamate. During the S phase of the cell cycle, camptothecin selectively stabilizes topoisomerase I-DNA covalent complexes, thereby inhibiting religation of topoisomerase I-mediated single-strand DNA breaks and producing potentially lethal double-strand DNA breaks when encountered by the DNA replication machinery. Conjugation with polyglutamate renders this agent more water soluble and less toxic than the parent molecule. (NCI Thesaurus)