title: Analysis of 2',5'-oligoadenylates in cells and tissues.
abstract: Complex mixtures of 2',5'-oligoadenylates are formed in cells and tissues under several different circumstances, and methods for analyzing such mixtures are reviewed. Separation is achieved by high-performance liquid chromatography and quantitation by competition-binding assays, using three different types of antibodies or a specific binding protein, or by functional assay, using preparations of an endonuclease specifically activated by some of the 2',5'-oligoadenylates. Representative results from three different biological systems are presented. The function of 2',5'-oligoadenylates as activators of intracellular RNA degradation is discussed, along with the possibility that these compounds may serve as signals for other intracellular regulatory processes.
mesh_terms: D000227:Adenine Nucleotides / Q000032:analysis*; D000818:Animals; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000032:analysis; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002621:Chemistry; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D000882:Haplorhini; D006801:Humans; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000032:analysis*; D009843:Oligoribonucleotides / Q000032:analysis*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D000227:Adenine Nucleotides; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D009843:Oligoribonucleotides; C023505:2',5'-oligoadenylate