Inhibition of Rous sarcoma viral RNA translation by a specific oligodeoxyribonucleotide.

TLDR

A tridecamer oligodeoxynucleotide complementary to the terminal nucleotides of Rous sarcoma virus 35S RNA efficiently inhibits viral RNA translation in a wheat embryo cell‑free system, and its potential to block viral replication has been previously reported. The oligodeoxynucleotide displays high specificity for oncornavirus RNA, outcompeting rabbit reticulocyte mRNA and brome mosaic virus RNA, and it can prime avian myeloblastosis virus DNA polymerase on heated viral RNA, confirming hybridization. Published in Natl.

Abstract

A tridecamer oligodeoxynucleotide, d(A-A-T-G-G-T-A-A-A-A-T-G-G), which is complementary to reiterated 3'- and 5'-terminal nucleotides of Rous sarcoma virus 35S RNA, is an efficient inhibitor of the translation of proteins specified by the viral RNA in the wheat embryo cell-free system. The inhibition specificity for oncornavirus RNA is greater than for rabbit reticulocyte mRNA or brome mosaic virus RNA. Other oligodeoxynucleotides of similar size have little or no specific effect on the RNA-directed translation. The tridecamer acts as a primer for the avian myeloblastosis virus DNA polymerase when Rous sarcoma virus heated 70S RNA is used as a template, offering evidence that it can hybridize to the RNA. The possible use of such an oligodeoxynucleotide hybridization competitor to inhibit Rous sarcoma virus replication is described in the preceding paper [Zamecnik, P. C. & Stephenson, M. L. (1978) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 75, 280--284].