Effect of bleomycin on DNA, RNA, protein, chromatin and on cell transformation by oncogenic RNA viruses.

Bleomycin (BLM) exclusively affects thymidine-containing compounds such as DNA and polydeoxyribonucleotides by releasing free thymine and leaving aldehyde functions. Molecular morphology and base sequence of the DNA strongly influence BLM activity. High BLM concentrations, besides modifying DNA into oligothyminic or athyminic nucleic acids, cause strand scissions. Enzymatic DNA and RNA synthesis is strongly influenced by BLM. The inhibition in DNA-dependent DNA polymerase and DNA-dependent RNA polymerase assays is of the non-competitive type. Protein biosynthesis in in vitro systems is not affected by BLM even at high concentrations. BLM turns out to be a strong inhibitor of DNase I and of DNase II; the inhibition is of the competitive type. The enzymatic activities of nucleases using RNA as substrate (RNase A, RNase B, Rnase T1, venom phosphodiesterase I and spleen phosphodiesterase II) are not influenced by this antibiotic. The antibiotic reduces cell proliferation (L5178y mouse lymphoma cells) in vitro in low concentrations by cytostasis and at higher concentrations by cytotoxicity. In BLM-treated L5178y cells, DNA synthesis is strongly reduced, while RNA and protein synthesis are not affected. In vivo, using growing quail oviducts, cell proliferation and cytodifferentiation are markedly inhibited after BLM treatment. This is attributed to the observed inhibition of DNA synthesis. RNA and protein synthesis as well as gene expression are not influenced by BLM under the conditions used. The selective inhibition of DNA synthesis in vivo may be caused by the following mechanisms: (1) competition of BLM with RNA; (2) blocking of the accessibility of DNA in chromatin to BLM, and (3) dependence from the repair processes. BLM inhibits growth of sarcomas, induced by oncogenic RNA viruses in vivo; well-developed tumours show regression after BLM treatment. Transformation of chick embryo fibroblasts by oncogenic RNA viruses in vitro and growth of these viruses is blocked by BLM; the most sensitive period for BLM inhibition is the time during the first period (integration of viral genome into cellular genome?) after infection.