Wortmannin, a metabolite of the fungus Penicillium funiculosum, is a specific inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks). It has an in vitro inhibitory concentration (IC50) of around 5 nM, making it a more potent inhibitor than LY294002, another commonly used PI3K inhibitor. It displays a similar potency in vitro for the class I, II, and III PI3K members although it can also inhibit other PI3K-related enzymes such as mTOR, DNA-PK, some phosphatidylinositol 4-kinases and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) at high concentrations Vanhaesebroeck B et al., (2001)SYNTHESIS AND FUNCTION OF 3-PHOSPHORYLATED INOSITOL LIPIDS. Annu Rev Biochem. Ferby I et al., 1996. Adv Exp Med Biol. PAF-induced MAPK activation is inhibited by wortmannin in neutrophils and macrophages. Wortmannin is a commonly used cell biology reagent that has been used previously in research to inhibit DNA repair, Receptor-mediated endocytosis and cell proliferation .

External links

• Wortmannin from Fermentek
• Wortmannin from AGScientific