Merck, S0130-5G, Streptozocin

Streptozocin (STZ) is an antineoplastic antibiotic. This N-nitroso-containing compound acts as a nitric oxide donor in pancreatic islets. It is a methylnitrosourea attached to a single molecule of glucosamine and has a high affinity for the cell surface glucose transporter glucose transporter type 2 (GLUT2), which is highly expressed on beta cells of the islets of Langerhans. Streptozotocin cannot pass through the blood-brain barrier, but its metabolites are usually seen in the cerebrospinal fluid. In cell culture medium, it has been shown to have a biological half-life of approximately 19 minutes. It is a strong methylating agent that interacts with DNA in vitro to produce methylated purines. It can impact glucose metabolism because STZ is particularly toxic to the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas in mammals and is also an effective antibiotic against Gram-negative bacteria. It inhibits the synthesis of DNA in microorganisms and mammalian cells by alkylation and cross-linking the strands of DNA and affects all stages of the mammalian cell cycle. STZ is considered mutagenic, carcinogenic, and possibly teratogenic in humans. It is cytotoxic to the neuroendocrine tumor cell lines that express the GLUT2 glucose transporter.