antimetabolite

antimetabolite
A substance that competes with, replaces, or antagonizes a particular metabolite; e.g., ethionine is an a. of methionine.

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an·ti·me·tab·o·lite .ant-i-mə-'tab-ə-.līt, .an-.tī- n a substance (as a sulfa drug) that replaces or inhibits the utilization of a metabolite

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n.
any one of a group of drugs that interfere with the normal metabolic processes within cells by combining with the enzymes responsible for them. Some drugs used in the treatment of cancer, e.g. fluorouracil, methotrexate, and mercaptopurine, are antimetabolites that prevent cell growth by interfering with enzyme reactions essential for nucleic acid synthesis. For example, fluorouracil inhibits the enzyme thymidylate synthetase. Side-effects of antimetabolites can be severe, involving blood cell disorders and digestive disturbances. See also chemotherapy, cytotoxic drug.

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an·ti·me·tab·o·lite (an″te-) (an″ti-mə-tabґo-līt) a substance bearing a close structural resemblance to one required for normal physiological functioning, and exerting its effect by interfering with the utilization of the essential metabolite. For various ways in which antimetabolites inhibit metabolic processes, see under inhibition.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • antimétabolite — ● antimétabolite nom masculin Chimiothérapie anticancéreuse. ⇒ANTIMÉTABOLITE, subst. masc. MÉD. ,,Substance entravant le métabolisme. En particulier, médicament (...) s opposant à certaines réactions chimiques intracellulaires et par conséquent à …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Antimetabolite — sind chemische Verbindungen, die natürlichen Metaboliten in ihrer chemischen Struktur ähneln, aber dessen Stoffwechselweg hemmen (Inhibitor). Ergebnis ist eine Störung der normalen Enzymfunktion in einem Stoffwechselweg oder biologischen Prozess …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • antimetabolite — [an΄tī mə tab′ə līt΄; an΄tēmə tab′ə līt΄, an΄timə tab′ə līt΄] n. a drug or biochemical that inhibits a metabolic process by competing with a similarly shaped metabolite for a particular enzyme …   English World dictionary

  • antimetabolite — /an tee meuh tab euh luyt , an tuy /, n. 1. Biochem. any substance that interferes with growth of an organism by competing with or substituting for an essential nutrient in an enzymatic process. adj. 2. Pharm. of or pertaining to certain… …   Universalium

  • Antimetabolite — The drug methotrexate (right) is an antimetabolite that interferes with the metabolism of folic acid (left). An antimetabolite is a chemical that inhibits the use of a metabolite, which is another chemical that is part of normal metabolism.[1] …   Wikipedia

  • Antimétabolite — Un antimétabolite est une substance chimique qui empêche l utilisation d un métabolite, qui est un autre produit chimique qui fait partie du métabolisme normal. Ces substances sont souvent similaires dans leur structure à celle du métabolite avec …   Wikipédia en Français

  • antimetabolite — antimetabolitas statusas T sritis chemija apibrėžtis Biologiškai aktyvus junginys, inhibuojantis metabolizmo fermentus. atitikmenys: angl. antimetabolite rus. антиметаболит …   Chemijos terminų aiškinamasis žodynas

  • antimetabolite — antimetabolitas statusas T sritis ekologija ir aplinkotyra apibrėžtis Gamtinis ar sintetinis biologiškai aktyvus junginys (pvz., metatreksatas, merkaptopurinas, gemcitabinas), pakeičiantis metabolitus biocheminėse reakcijose, trikdantis medžiagų… …   Ekologijos terminų aiškinamasis žodynas

  • antimetabolite — noun Date: 1945 a substance that replaces or inhibits an organism s utilization of a metabolite …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • antimetabolite — n. [Gr. anti, against; metabole, change] Any compound that interferes with normal cellular metabolism …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

  • antimetabolite — (an tī mē tab o laīt) A compound that blocks metabolic pathway function by competitively inhibiting a key enzyme s use of a metabolite because it closely resembles the normal enzyme substrate …   Dictionary of microbiology

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