Anthracycline antibiotic, beromycin. the formation of complexes with DNA and the suppresion of nucleic acid biosynthesis
Ostanina, L.N.; Dudnik, I.V.; Koz'mian, L.I.
Antibiotiki 22(6): 498-502
1977
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-5637 PMID: 407838 Document Number: 113414
Beromycin, an antitumor anthracycline antibiotic formed in vitro complexes with native and denaturated DNA and ribosomal RNA. Beromycin had a comparatively low constant of DNA binding and to a less extent increased the melting temperature and viscosity of DNA than the other anthracycline antibiotics. A peculiar property of beromycin was very slow binding with DNA, the complex formation was completed in 60 minutes. Beromycin had a selective inhibitory effect on synthesis of nucleic acids in bacterial and tumor cells. Beromycin inhibited synthesis of RNA in the DNA-dependent RNA-polymerase reaction when both the native and denaturated DNA were used as the template. A lower biological activity of beromycin as compared to the other anthracycline antibiotics, such as rubomycin or carminomycin may be explained by lower affinity of this antibiotic to DNA.