NCIt definition : A purine nucleoside antimetabolite and antibiotic isolated from the fungus Cordyceps
militaris with potential antineoplastic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities.
Cordycepin is an inhibitor of polyadenylation, activates AMP-activated protein kinase
(AMPK) and reduces mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, which may result
in both the induction of tumor cell apoptosis and a decrease in tumor cell proliferation.
mTOR, a serine/threonine kinase belonging to the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-related
kinase (PIKK) family, plays an important role in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway
that regulates cell growth and proliferation, and its expression or activity is frequently
dysregulated in human cancers.;
Alternative definition : NCI-GLOSS: An anticancer drug that belongs to a family of drugs called antitumor antibiotics.;