Cordycepin, or 3'-deoxyadenosine, is a derivative

Derivative (chemistry)

In chemistry, a derivative is a compound that is derived from a similar compound by some chemical or physical process. In the past it was also used to mean a compound that can be imagined to arise from another compound, if one atom is replaced with another atom or group of atoms, but modern...

 of the nucleoside

Nucleoside

Nucleosides are glycosylamines consisting of a nucleobase bound to a ribose or deoxyribose sugar via a beta-glycosidic linkage...

 adenosine, differing from the latter by the absence of oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

 in the 3'

Nucleic acid nomenclature

Molecular biologists use several shorthand terms when referring to nucleic acid molecules, such as DNA and RNA, collectively referred to as nucleic acid nomenclature....

 position of its ribose

Ribose

Ribose is an organic compound with the formula C5H10O5; specifically, a monosaccharide with linear form H––4–H, which has all the hydroxyl groups on the same side in the Fischer projection....

 part. It was initially extracted from fungi of genus Cordyceps

Cordyceps

Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi that includes about 400 described species. All Cordyceps species are endoparasitoids, mainly on insects and other arthropods ; a few are parasitic on other fungi. The best known species of the genus is Cordyceps sinensis, first recorded as yartsa gunbu in...

, but is now produced synthetically.

Because cordycepin is similar to adenosine, some enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

s cannot discriminate between the two. Therefore, it can participate in certain biochemical reactions (for example, be incorporated into an RNA

RNA

Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....

 molecule, thus causing the premature termination of its synthesis).

It also has interesting properties as an anti-tumor, anti-fungal, anti-viral agent, since it has the ability to inhibit some protein kinase

Protein kinase

A protein kinase is a kinase enzyme that modifies other proteins by chemically adding phosphate groups to them . Phosphorylation usually results in a functional change of the target protein by changing enzyme activity, cellular location, or association with other proteins...

s. As an anti-tumor agent, researchers stated that it has the capacity to reduce the growth of ascites

Ascites

Ascites is a gastroenterological term for an accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity.The medical condition is also known as peritoneal cavity fluid, peritoneal fluid excess, hydroperitoneum or more archaically as abdominal dropsy. Although most commonly due to cirrhosis and severe liver...

 tumor cells in the Ehrlich mice with cervical cell carcinoma

Cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is malignant neoplasm of the cervix uteri or cervical area. One of the most common symptoms is abnormal vaginal bleeding, but in some cases there may be no obvious symptoms until the cancer is in its advanced stages...

 and Lewis lung cancer

Lewis lung carcinoma

In 1975, Munson discovered that cannabinoids suppress Lewis lung carcinoma cell growth. The mechanism of this action was shown to be inhibition of DNA synthesisCannabinoids increase the life span of mice carrying Lewis lung tumors and decrease primary tumor size. There are multiple modes of...

.