Rubratoxins are
hepatotoxic
Hepatotoxicity (from ''hepatic toxicity'') implies chemical-driven liver damage. Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a cause of acute and chronic liver disease caused specifically by medications and the most common reason for a drug to be withdr ...
mycotoxin
A mycotoxin (from the Greek μύκης , "fungus" and τοξικός , "poisonous") is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by fungi and is capable of causing disease and death in both humans and other animals. The term 'mycotoxin' is usually rese ...
produced by ''
Penicillium rubrum
''Penicillium rubrum'' is a species of fungus in the genus ''Penicillium'' which produces kojic acid, mitorubrin, mitorubrinol, rubratoxin A, rubratoxin B rubralactone, rubramin and occurs in grain corn and soybeans. ''Penicillium rubrum'' ...
'' and ''
Penicillium purpurogenum
''Penicillium purpurogenum'' is a plant pathogen infecting strawberries. It produces rubratoxin B, a mycotoxin
A mycotoxin (from the Greek μύκης , "fungus" and τοξικός , "poisonous") is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by fungi ...
.'' Rubratoxin A and
rubratoxin B
Rubratoxin B is mycotoxin with anticancer activity made by '' Penicillium rubrum''. It has been reported to elicit antioxidative and DNA repair
DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects ...
have been known since 1950s. Rubratoxins are also known as
protein phosphatase 2A Protein phosphatase 2A may refer to:
* Protein phosphatase 2
Protein phosphatase 2 (PP2), also known as PP2A, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''PPP2CA'' gene. The PP2A heterotrimeric protein phosphatase is ubiquitously expresse ...
(PP2A) specific inhibitor. The PP2A inhibitory activity of rubratoxin A is about 100-fold higher than rubratoxin B and rubratoxin A is now used as a chemical probe for PP2A research.
References
{{Reflist
Mycotoxins
Phosphatase inhibitors
Carboxylic anhydrides