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Encyclopedia of Cancer pp 1–5Cite as

Tunicamycin

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Definition

Tunicamycin is an antibiotic identified and isolated from the fermentation broth of Streptomyces lysosuperificus. Since the antibiotic interferes with the formation of viral and cellular surface coats, it was termed “tunicamycin” after the Latin word “tunica” for coats.

Characteristics

Structure and Function

Tunicamycin is a nucleoside antibiotic composed of uracil, a fatty acid, and two glycosidically linked sugars. The sugars are N-acetylglucosamine and an unusual 11-carbon aminodeoxydialdose, which has been named tunicamine. Tunicamycin is a white crystalline powder which is soluble in alkaline water, pyridine, and hot methanol; slightly soluble in ethanol and n-butanol; and insoluble in acetone, ethylacetate, chloroform, benzene, and acidic water. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of tunicamycin shows that the antibiotic is separated into ten different components that have molecular weights ranging from 802 to 858. These differences in molecular mass are...

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References

  • Eibein AD (1987) Inhibition of the biosynthesis and processing of N-linked oligosaccharide chains. Ann Rev Biochem 56:497–534

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular-Targeting Cancer Prevention, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

    Tatsushi Yoshida & Toshiyuki Sakai

Authors
  1. Tatsushi Yoshida
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  2. Toshiyuki Sakai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tatsushi Yoshida .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Yoshida, T., Sakai, T. (2015). Tunicamycin. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_6065-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_6065-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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