Antitumor agents LII: The effects of molephantinin on nucleic acid and protein synthesis of Ehrlich ascites cells.

Molephantinin, a germacranolide, has previously been shown to possess antineoplastic activity in rodents. The principle effect of molephantinin on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells was to depress DNA and protein synthesis both in vivo and in vitro. DNA synthesis was inhibited at the following sites: DNA polymerase, purine synthesis specifically at inosinic acid dehydrogenase and to a lesser degree at dihydrofolate reductase, pyrimidine synthesis at orotidine monophosphate decarboxylase, thymidine kinase, histone phosphorylation, and oxidative phosphorylation processes. The protein synthesis inhibition pattern resembled more an initiation inhibitor as opposed to an elongation inhibitor.