Cycloheximide

Description: Cycloheximide, produced by S. griseus, is a glutarimide antibiotic and an inhibitor of protein synthesis in eukaryotes (but not prokaryotes) with IC50 of 5-50 uM (IC50s of 532.5 nM and 2880 nM for protein synthesis and RNA synthesis in vivo, respectively). The mechanism of action is to interfer with translational elongation. The effects of Cycloheximide on protein synthesis can either induce or inhibit apoptosis depending on cell type. Cycloheximide has been used extensively as a tool in molecular biology research for ribosome profiling and translational profiling as well as to determine the half-life of a protein.

References: J Biol Chem. 1971 Jan 10; 246(1):174-81; Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Sep 11; 109(37):E2424-32; Cell Biol Int. 2006 Nov; 30(11):924-32.