title: The virion host shutoff protein (UL41) of herpes simplex virus 1 is an endoribonuclease with a substrate specificity similar to that of RNase A.
abstract: Earlier, our laboratory reported that purified glutathione S-transferase-virion host shutoff (GST-vhs) protein exhibited endoribonucleolytic activity in in vitro assays using as substrates in vitro-transcribed regions of IEX-1 mRNA. Here, we report that studies of the cleavage patterns of synthetic RNA oligonucleotides defined the activity of GST-vhs as being similar to that of RNase A. Thus, GST-vhs cleaved the RNA at the 3' end of single-stranded cytidine and uridine residues. Since the GST-mvhs nuclease-defective mutant protein failed to cleave the synthetic RNAs, the results unambiguously attribute the activity to vhs.
authors.affiliation: The Marjorie Kovler Viral Oncology Laboratories, The University of Chicago, 910 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Brunella
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Taddeo
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roizman
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004722:Endoribonucleases / Q000737:chemistry*; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000378:metabolism; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D012259:Ribonuclease, Pancreatic / Q000737:chemistry*; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012367:RNA, Viral; C081688:Ul41 protein, Human herpesvirus 1; D014764:Viral Proteins; D012313:RNA; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D004722:Endoribonucleases; D012259:Ribonuclease, Pancreatic