Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Cytotoxic hammerhead ribozymes.

R Levitz1, Y Dong, J Y Wang

  • 1Public Health Research Institute, New York, NY 10016, USA.

Antisense & Nucleic Acid Drug Development
|June 4, 1999
PubMed
Summary

Hammerhead ribozymes, designed for HIV-1 tat mRNA, showed unexpected cytotoxic effects on bacteria. Bacterial RecA protein function, not the SOS response, was found to alleviate this ribozyme toxicity.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

[Research progress on cellular senescence and liver diseases].

Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology·2026
Same author

[Study on the status of media exposure to tuberculosis prevention information and its impact on health beliefs and preventive behaviors among lower-grade university students in Guangzhou City].

Zhonghua yu fang yi xue za zhi [Chinese journal of preventive medicine]·2026
Same author

[Clinicopathological characteristics of anaplastic sarcoma of the kidney in children].

Zhonghua bing li xue za zhi = Chinese journal of pathology·2026
Same author

[Serum interleukin predicts the efficacy of immunotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a prospective observational study].

Zhonghua zhong liu za zhi [Chinese journal of oncology]·2025
Same author

[Clinical characteristics of central nervous system thrombotic events associated with Trousseau's syndrome and literature review].

Zhonghua yi xue za zhi·2025
Same author

[Analysis of nutritional status of male children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy].

Zhonghua yi xue za zhi·2025

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • RNA Therapeutics
  • Bacterial Genetics

Background:

  • Hammerhead ribozymes are catalytic RNA molecules with therapeutic potential.
  • Their intracellular activity requires careful assessment for unintended biological effects.
  • Previous studies have not fully characterized the cytotoxic mechanisms of ribozymes in bacteria.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the cytotoxic effects of hammerhead ribozyme variants expressed in Escherichia coli.
  • To determine the role of bacterial RecA protein and SOS response in mediating ribozyme toxicity.
  • To highlight the importance of rigorous safety evaluations for ribozyme-based research.

Main Methods:

  • Construction of a ribozyme sequence variant expression library in a recA-deficient E. coli strain.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Assessment of bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects of ribozyme expression.
  • Comparative analysis of ribozyme toxicity in recA+, recA-, and lexA3 (Ind-) E. coli strains.

    • Main Results:

    • The parental hammerhead ribozyme and several variants displayed bacteriostatic effects.
    • One specific ribozyme variant exhibited bactericidal activity.
    • The cytotoxic effect was alleviated in recA+ and recA+ lexA3 (Ind-) cells, indicating RecA's role.

    Conclusions:

    • Hammerhead ribozymes can exert cytotoxic effects on bacteria independent of their intended RNA-cleaving activity.
    • Bacterial RecA protein-mediated recombination is sufficient to mitigate ribozyme-induced toxicity.
    • Thorough toxicological evaluation is crucial for intracellular ribozyme studies.