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| ECHA InfoCard | 100.006.903 |
| Chemical and physical data | |
| Formula | C29H40N2O4 |
| Molar mass | 480.649 g·mol−1 |
| 3D model (JSmol) | |
| Melting point | 74 °C (165 °F) |
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Emetine is a drug used as both an anti-protozoal and to induce vomiting. It is produced from the ipecac root. It takes its name from its emetic properties. [1]
Mechanism of action of emetine was studied by François Magendie during the nineteenth century.[ citation needed ]
Early use of emetine was in the form of oral administration of the extract of ipecac root, or ipecacuanha. This extract was originally thought to contain only one alkaloid, emetine, but was found to contain several, including cephaeline, psychotrine and others. Although this therapy was reportedly successful, the extract caused vomiting in many patients, which reduced its utility. In some cases, it was given with opioids to reduce nausea. Other approaches to reduce nausea involved coated tablets, allowing the drug to be released after digestion in the stomach. [2]
The identification of emetine as a more potent agent improved the treatment of amoebiasis. While use of emetine still caused nausea, it was more effective than the crude extract of ipecac root. Additionally, emetine could be administered hypodermically which still produced nausea, but not to the degree experienced in oral administration.[ citation needed ]
Although it is a potent antiprotozoal, the drug also can interfere with muscle contractions, leading to cardiac failure in some cases. [ citation needed ] Because of this, in some uses it is required to be administered in a hospital so that adverse events can be addressed.
Dehydroemetine is a synthetically produced antiprotozoal agent similar to emetine in its anti-amoebic properties and structure (they differ only in a double bond next to the ethyl group), but it produces fewer side effects.
Cephaeline is a desmethyl analog of emetine also found in ipecac root.
Emetine dihydrochloro hydrate is used in the laboratory to block protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells. It does this by binding to the 40S subunit of the ribosome. [3] This can thus be used in the study of protein degradation in cells. Mutants resistant to emetine are altered in the 40S ribosomal subunit (S14 protein), [4] [5] and they exhibit cross-resistance to cryptopleurine, tylocrebrine, cephaeline and tubulosine, but not other inhibitors of protein synthesis. [6] The compounds to which these mutants exhibit cross-resistance have been shown to share common structural determinants with emetine that are responsible for their biological activities. [7]
The biosynthesis of cephaeline and emetine come from two main biosynthesis pathways: the biosynthesis of dopamine from L-tyrosine and the biosynthesis of secologanin from geranyl diphosphate. Biosynthesis begins from the reaction between dopamine and secologanin forming N-deacetylisoipecoside (S-form) and N-deacetylipecoside (R-form). The S-form then goes through a Pictet-Spengler type reaction followed by a series of O-methylations and the removal of glucose, with O-methyltransferases and a glycosidase, to form proemetine. Proemetine then reacts with another dopamine molecule to form 7'-O-demethylcephaeline. The final products are then produced with a 7'-O-methylation to make cephaeline and a 6'-O-methylation successively to make emetine. [8] [9]
Heavy or overusage of emetine can carry the risk of developing proximal myopathy and/or cardiomyopathy. [10]
A 2018 study [11] at Princeton University and Thomas Jefferson University has demonstrated that emetine blocks the dissemination of rabies virus inside nerve cells, but the exact mechanism is still under investigation. Emetine had no effect on the transport of endosomes devoid of the rabies virus. (Rabies resides in nerve endosomes). But endosomes carrying the virus were either completely immobilized, or were only able to move short distances at slower-than-normal speeds. [12]
In 2016, a study [13] found that low doses of emetine inhibited cytomegalovirus replication and was synergistic with ganciclovir.
Ribosomes are macromolecular machines, found within all cells, that perform biological protein synthesis. Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order specified by the codons of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules to form polypeptide chains. Ribosomes consist of two major components: the small and large ribosomal subunits. Each subunit consists of one or more ribosomal RNA (rRNA) molecules and many ribosomal proteins. The ribosomes and associated molecules are also known as the translational apparatus.
A catecholamine is a monoamine neurotransmitter, an organic compound that has a catechol and a side-chain amine.
Syrup of ipecac, or simply ipecac, is a drug that was once widely used as an expectorant and a rapid-acting emetic. It is obtained from the dried rhizome and roots of the ipecacuanha plant, from which it derives its name. It is no longer regularly used in medicine.
Rabies virus, scientific name Rabies lyssavirus, is a neurotropic virus that causes rabies in animals, including humans. Rabies transmission can occur through the saliva of animals and less commonly through contact with human saliva. Rabies lyssavirus, like many rhabdoviruses, has an extremely wide host range. In the wild it has been found infecting many mammalian species, while in the laboratory it has been found that birds can be infected, as well as cell cultures from mammals, birds, reptiles and insects. Rabies is reported in more than 150 countries and on all continents except Antarctica. The main burden of disease is reported in Asia and Africa, but some cases have been reported also in Europe in the past 10 years, especially in returning travellers.
Noscapine is a benzylisoquinoline alkaloid, of the phthalideisoquinoline structural subgroup, which has been isolated from numerous species of the family Papaveraceae. It lacks significant hypnotic, euphoric, or analgesic effects affording it with very low addictive potential. This agent is primarily used for its antitussive (cough-suppressing) effects.
Azacitidine, sold under the brand name Vidaza among others, is a medication used for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome, myeloid leukemia, and juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia. It is a chemical analog of cytidine, a nucleoside in DNA and RNA. Azacitidine and its deoxy derivative, decitabine were first synthesized in Czechoslovakia as potential chemotherapeutic agents for cancer.
Methyltransferases are a large group of enzymes that all methylate their substrates but can be split into several subclasses based on their structural features. The most common class of methyltransferases is class I, all of which contain a Rossmann fold for binding S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM). Class II methyltransferases contain a SET domain, which are exemplified by SET domain histone methyltransferases, and class III methyltransferases, which are membrane associated. Methyltransferases can also be grouped as different types utilizing different substrates in methyl transfer reactions. These types include protein methyltransferases, DNA/RNA methyltransferases, natural product methyltransferases, and non-SAM dependent methyltransferases. SAM is the classical methyl donor for methyltransferases, however, examples of other methyl donors are seen in nature. The general mechanism for methyl transfer is a SN2-like nucleophilic attack where the methionine sulfur serves as the leaving group and the methyl group attached to it acts as the electrophile that transfers the methyl group to the enzyme substrate. SAM is converted to S-Adenosyl homocysteine (SAH) during this process. The breaking of the SAM-methyl bond and the formation of the substrate-methyl bond happen nearly simultaneously. These enzymatic reactions are found in many pathways and are implicated in genetic diseases, cancer, and metabolic diseases. Another type of methyl transfer is the radical S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM) which is the methylation of unactivated carbon atoms in primary metabolites, proteins, lipids, and RNA.
Ribosome biogenesis is the process of making ribosomes. In prokaryotes, this process takes place in the cytoplasm with the transcription of many ribosome gene operons. In eukaryotes, it takes place both in the cytoplasm and in the nucleolus. It involves the coordinated function of over 200 proteins in the synthesis and processing of the three prokaryotic or four eukaryotic rRNAs, as well as assembly of those rRNAs with the ribosomal proteins. Most of the ribosomal proteins fall into various energy-consuming enzyme families including ATP-dependent RNA helicases, AAA-ATPases, GTPases, and kinases. About 60% of a cell's energy is spent on ribosome production and maintenance.
A catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT) inhibitor is a drug that inhibits the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase. This enzyme methylates catecholamines such as dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine. It also methylates levodopa. COMT inhibitors are indicated for the treatment of Parkinson's disease in combination with levodopa and an aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase inhibitor. The therapeutic benefit of using a COMT inhibitor is based on its ability to prevent the methylation of levodopa to 3-O-methyldopa, thus increasing the bioavailability of levodopa. COMT inhibitors significantly decrease off time in people with Parkinson's disease also taking carbidopa/levodopa.
In enzymology, a tabersonine 16-O-methyltransferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
Protein arginine N-methyltransferase 1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the PRMT1 gene. The HRMT1L2 gene encodes a protein arginine methyltransferase that functions as a histone methyltransferase specific for histone H4.
The enzyme deacetylipecoside synthase (EC 4.3.3.4) catalyzes the chemical reaction
Protein arginine N-methyltransferase 3 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the PRMT3 gene.
HBx is a hepatitis B viral protein. It is 154 amino acids long and interferes with transcription, signal transduction, cell cycle progress, protein degradation, apoptosis and chromosomal stability in the host. It forms a heterodimeric complex with its cellular target protein, and this interaction dysregulates centrosome dynamics and mitotic spindle formation. It interacts with DDB1 redirecting the ubiquitin ligase activity of the CUL4-DDB1 E3 complexes, which are intimately involved in the intracellular regulation of DNA replication and repair, transcription and signal transduction.
Protein arginine methyltransferase 7 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the PRMT7 gene. Arginine methylation is an apparently irreversible protein modification catalyzed by arginine methyltransferases, such as PMT7, using S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) as the methyl donor. Arginine methylation is implicated in signal transduction, RNA transport, and RNA splicing.
N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) was originally identified and partially characterised in the 1970s, and is an abundant modification in mRNA and DNA. It is found within some viruses, and most eukaryotes including mammals, insects, plants and yeast. It is also found in tRNA, rRNA, and small nuclear RNA (snRNA) as well as several long non-coding RNA, such as Xist.
Radical SAMenzymes is a superfamily of enzymes that use a [4Fe-4S]+ cluster to reductively cleave S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) to generate a radical, usually a 5′-deoxyadenosyl radical (5'-dAdo), as a critical intermediate. These enzymes utilize this radical intermediate to perform diverse transformations, often to functionalize unactivated C-H bonds. Radical SAM enzymes are involved in cofactor biosynthesis, enzyme activation, peptide modification, post-transcriptional and post-translational modifications, metalloprotein cluster formation, tRNA modification, lipid metabolism, biosynthesis of antibiotics and natural products etc. The vast majority of known radical SAM enzymes belong to the radical SAM superfamily, and have a cysteine-rich motif that matches or resembles CxxxCxxC. Radical SAM enzymes comprise the largest superfamily of metal-containing enzymes.
23S rRNA (uridine2552-2'-O)-methyltransferase is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:23S rRNA (uridine2552-2'-O-)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction
3-O-Methyldopa (3-OMD) is one of the most important metabolites of L-DOPA, a drug used in the treatment of the Parkinson's disease.
Coenzyme Q5, methyltransferase, more commonly known as COQ5, is an enzyme involved in the electron transport chain. COQ5 is located within the mitochondrial matrix and is a part of the biosynthesis of ubiquinone.
emetine.
