Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Oropharyngeal Administration of Bleomycin in the Murine Model of Pulmonary Fibrosis
06:03

Oropharyngeal Administration of Bleomycin in the Murine Model of Pulmonary Fibrosis

Published on: May 9, 2025

1.9K

Bleomycin Can Cleave an Oncogenic Noncoding RNA

Alicia J Angelbello1, Matthew D Disney1

  • 1Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 110 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL, 33458, USA.

Chembiochem : a European Journal of Chemical Biology
|October 31, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Bleomycin A5 cleaves RNA, specifically targeting microRNA-10b precursors near key processing sites. This demonstrates that oncogenic noncoding RNAs can be targeted by cancer drugs for therapeutic effects.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Noncoding RNAs play crucial roles in cellular functions and disease, including cancer.
  • The potential of noncoding RNAs as therapeutic targets remains an active area of biomedical research.
  • Bleomycin, a DNA-cleaving agent, has demonstrated in vitro RNA cleavage capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the RNA cleavage preferences of bleomycin A5.
  • To identify specific noncoding RNA targets susceptible to bleomycin A5-mediated cleavage.
  • To evaluate the therapeutic potential of targeting noncoding RNAs with bleomycin A5.

Main Methods:

  • In vitro analysis of bleomycin A5's RNA cleavage activity and sequence preferences.
  • Bioinformatic identification of potential microRNA substrates.
  • In vitro and cellular experiments to confirm bleomycin A5-mediated cleavage of microRNA-10b hairpin precursor.
  • Assessment of the impact of cleavage on microRNA processing and function.

Main Results:

  • Bleomycin A5 exhibits a preference for cleaving RNA sequences rich in AU base pairs.
  • The microRNA-10b hairpin precursor was identified as a susceptible substrate for bleomycin A5.
  • Both in vitro and cellular studies confirmed bleomycin A5-induced cleavage of the microRNA-10b precursor.
  • Cleavage occurred near Drosha and Dicer processing sites, leading to microRNA degradation.

Conclusions:

  • Oncogenic noncoding RNAs can be effectively targeted by cancer therapeutics like bleomycin.
  • Bleomycin A5 demonstrates a mechanism for pharmacologically impacting noncoding RNA pathways.
  • Targeting noncoding RNAs represents a viable strategy for cancer drug development.
Keywords:
bleomycinchemical biologynoncoding RNAnucleic acidssmall molecules

More Related Videos

Pre-Conditioning the Airways of Mice with Bleomycin Increases the Efficiency of Orthotopic Lung Cancer Cell Engraftment09:02

Pre-Conditioning the Airways of Mice with Bleomycin Increases the Efficiency of Orthotopic Lung Cancer Cell Engraftment

Published on: June 28, 2018

14.4K
A Mouse Model of Pulmonary Fibrosis Induced by Nasal Bleomycin Nebulization02:46

A Mouse Model of Pulmonary Fibrosis Induced by Nasal Bleomycin Nebulization

Published on: January 20, 2023

4.9K

Related Concept Videos

RNA Splicing01:32

RNA Splicing

Splicing is the process by which eukaryotic RNA is edited before its translation into protein. The RNA strand transcribed from eukaryotic DNA is called the primary transcript. The primary transcripts that become mRNAs are called precursor messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs). Eukaryotic pre-mRNA contains alternating sequences of exons and introns. Exons are nucleotide sequences that code for proteins, whereas introns are the non-coding regions. In RNA splicing, introns are removed and exons are bonded...
60.8K
MicroRNAs01:22

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns (non-coding regions of a gene) or intergenic regions (stretches of DNA present between genes). Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself, forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA...
4.1K
MicroRNAs01:22

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns—non-coding regions of a gene—or intergenic regions—stretches of DNA present between genes. Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After...
24.3K
Leaky Scanning02:28

Leaky Scanning

During most eukaryotic translation processes, the small 40S ribosome subunit scans an mRNA from its 5' end until it encounters the first start AUG codon. The large 60S ribosomal subunit then joins the smaller one to initiate protein synthesis. The location of the translation initiation is largely determined by the nucleotides near the start codon as there may be multiple translation initiation sites present on the mRNA.  Marilyn Kozak discovered that the sequence RCCAUGG (where R...
5.8K
lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs02:39

lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs

In humans, more than 80% of the genome gets transcribed. However, only around 2% of the genome codes for proteins. The remaining part produces non-coding RNAs which includes ribosomal RNAs, transfer RNAs, telomerase RNAs, and regulatory RNAs, among other types. A large number of regulatory non-coding RNAs have been classified into two groups depending upon their length – small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNA, which are less than 200 nucleotides in length, and long non-coding RNA...
10.0K
lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs02:39

lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs

3.7K