Augmentation of bleomycin-induced DNA damage in intact cells

Bleomycin, an important cause of pulmonary fibrosis, is known to produce DNA damage. The mechanism for this damage in vitro is related to free radical production by a bleomycin and iron complex. To determine whether bleomycin causes damage to DNA in vivo by a similar mechanism, we used a viral minichromosome that is replicated in cultured cells. Bleomycin causes dose-dependent damage to intracellular DNA, and this damage is augmented by Fe2+ but not Fe3+. The augmentation of the bleomycin-induced DNA damage caused by Fe2+ is also dose dependent in that increasing DNA damage occurs with increasing amounts of Fe2+. These studies demonstrate that bleomycin causes damage to DNA in vivo and suggest that bleomycin must rely on Fe2+ to donate an electron for oxygen radical-induced DNA strand scission.