Figure 2.
nc886 conformer 1 activates the OAS/RNase L pathway in human A549 cells. A, native PAGE analysis of purified nc886 conformers and the adenoviral VA RNAI (TSΔ21) variant used for transfections. B, agarose gel analysis of total cellular RNA extracted at 3 h post-transfection with the indicated RNA (1 μg/ml) or other treatment: untransfected (Un.) or mock-transfected (Mock). rRNA degradation, based on 28S and 18S rRNA integrity, is only induced by treatment with nc886 conformer 1 and poly(rI·rC). A representative gel is shown for one of three independent replicates, which showed essentially identical results. C, analysis of total cellular RNA extracted from A549 cells lacking RNase L treated as in B, demonstrating that rRNA degradation observed with nc886 conformer 1 and poly(rI·rC) treatment is specifically dependent on activation of the OAS/RNase L pathway.