rapamycin
Meaning of rapamycin: Rapamycin, now known chiefly as sirolimus, suppresses immune activity by blocking a cell signaling pathway that lymphocytes and other cells need to divide.
Definition of rapamycin
Rapamycin, more commonly known today by its generic name sirolimus, is a medication used to help prevent the body from rejecting a transplanted organ. It works by blocking a protein called mTOR, short for mechanistic target of rapamycin, which cells rely on to grow and divide.
By interfering with this pathway, rapamycin suppresses the activity of certain white blood cells that would otherwise recognize a transplanted organ as foreign and mount an immune response against it. This places rapamycin in a class of drugs known as immunosuppressants.
Rapamycin was originally identified as a product of a soil bacterium and was first studied for its antifungal properties before its immunosuppressant effects were recognized, and its mechanism, blocking mTOR signaling, has also made it and related compounds a subject of ongoing research in other areas of medicine.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
Rapamycin was included in the patient's regimen to help prevent rejection of the transplanted organ.
Good to know
Rapamycin and sirolimus name the same medication, and confusion sometimes arises because both names continue to appear side by side in older and newer medical literature.