Cordycepin
Cordycepin
Chemical compound
Cordycepin, or 3'-deoxyadenosine, is a derivative of the nucleoside adenosine, differing from the latter by the replacement of the hydroxy group in the 3' position with a hydrogen. It was initially extracted from the fungus Cordyceps militaris,[1] but can now be produced synthetically.[2] It is also found in other Cordyceps species as well as Ophiocordyceps sinensis.[3]
Cordycepin is produced in cordyceps as a means of infecting insect populations, due to cordycepin's biological activity[4]
Because cordycepin is similar to adenosine, some enzymes cannot discriminate between the two.[citation needed] It can therefore participate in certain biochemical reactions (for example, 3-dA can trigger the premature termination of mRNA synthesis).[5][6] By acting as an adenosine analog, cordycepin was found to be the most potent molecular circadian clock resetter out of several screened compounds.[7]
Cordycepin has displayed cytotoxicity against some leukemic cell lines in vitro.[8][9][10] Additionally, cordycepin has been shown to display an effect in some types of other cancers, such as lung,[11] renal,[12] colon,[13] and breast cancer.[14] Cordycepin has been shown to reduce viable A549 lung cancer cell populations by 50%.[11]
Cordycepin has been found to produce rapid, robust imipramine-like antidepressant effects in animal models of depression, and these effects, similarly to those of imipramine, are dependent on enhancement of AMPA receptor signaling.[15]
Cordycepin has been shown to have anti-inflammatory qualities,[16] as well as the ability to defend against injury from cerebral ischemia in mice.[17]