The mitosenes are a class of

organic chemical Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a Carbon–hydrogen bond, carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. F ...

s based on a

quinone The quinones are a class of organic compounds that are formally "derived from aromatic compounds benzene.html" ;"title="uch as benzene">uch as benzene or naphthalene] by conversion of an even number of –CH= groups into –C(=O)– groups with ...

-containing three-ring structure related to the two-ring core of the

indolequinone Indolequinones are molecules which are based upon an indole but have two additional ketone groups (quinone) attached to the ring structure. This simple indolequinone indole-5,6-quinone is produced during the ripening of some fruit. Other exampl ...

s. They are derived from the

mitomycins The mitomycins are a family of aziridine-containing natural products isolated from '' Streptomyces caespitosus'' or '' Streptomyces lavendulae.'' They include mitomycin A, mitomycin B, and mitomycin C. When the name mitomycin occurs alone, it usu ...

by reduction and are the active

alkylating Alkylation is a chemical reaction that entails transfer of an alkyl group. The alkyl group may be transferred as an alkyl carbocation, a free radical, a carbanion, or a carbene (or their equivalents). Alkylating agents are reagents for effecting al ...

agents responsible for the

antitumor Cancer treatments are a wide range of treatments available for the many different types of cancer, with each cancer type needing its own specific treatment. Treatments can include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targe ...

activity of the mitomycins.

References

Quinones DNA replication inhibitors Enones {{Carbohydrate-stub