Mycophenolate

**Semantic type:** Pharmacologic Substance

**Definition:** The morpholinoethyl ester of mycophenolic acid (MPA). As an immunosuppressive agent in vivo, the active metabolite mycophenolate reversibly inhibits inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), an enzyme involved in the de novo synthesis of guanine nucleotides, thereby retarding T-cell and B-cell proliferation. MPA displays high lymphocyte specificity and cytotoxicity because lymphocyte metabolism is highly dependent on both salvage and de novo synthesis of guanine nucleotides. (NCI04)