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2,6-Diaminopurine

2,6-diaminopurine (yellow) is a compound that cannot be synthesized by living organisms. On the other hand, since it was found in meteorites, it is thought to be one of the materials that gave rise to life.


The chemically synthesized 2,6-diaminopurine was once used as a treatment for leukemia. In the DNA in our cells, A (orange) and T (purple) form a complementary base pair. Since 2,6-diaminopurine can more tightly base pair with T, formation of the A-T base pairs can be competitively inhibited. In other words, this compound can induce cancer cell death by inhibiting DNA replication. As you can imagine, the same thing happens to normal cells, which can cause serious side effects. Currently, drugs with lower side effects are being developed.


References:

- Burchenal JH, Bendich A, et al. Preliminary studies on the effect of 2,6-diaminopurine on transplanted mouse Leukemia. Cancer. 2, 119-120 (1949).



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