Bleomycin Hydrolase (BLMH)

Bleomycin hydrolase (BMH) is a cytoplasmic cysteine peptidase that is highly conserved through evolution; however, the only known activity of the enzyme is metabolic inactivation of the glycopeptide bleomycin (BLM), an essential component of combination chemotherapy regimens for cancer. The protein contains the signature active site residues of the cysteine protease papain superfamily. The protein had aminopeptidase activity that was blocked by the irreversible cysteine protease inhibitor E-64. Both yeast and human BMH also possess endopeptidase activity. The gene is expressed in many human tissues with elevated expression levels found in testis, skeletal muscle, and pancreas, and low levels of expression in colon and peripheral blood leukocytes