Muristerone A is a natural analog of 20-hydroxyecdysone . It is an agonist of the ecdysteroid receptor (Kd = 1 nM), a nuclear receptor that heterodimerizes with a retinoid X receptor ortholog and regulates arthropod development. Muristerone A is used as an agonist in ecdysone-inducible gene expression systems in mammalian cells. However, it inhibits apoptosis in the human colon carcinoma cell line RKO by inducing the upregulation of Bcl-xL, suggesting limitations in its use in certain types of studies.
