Inhibitor of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase induced in human T lymphoblastoid cell line treated with deoxyadenosine, deoxycoformycin and interferon.

The effect of deoxyadenosine (dAdo) with deoxycoformycin on the induction of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase by interferon was investigated. After semi-purification through poly(I):poly(C) gel, the activity was similar in control and dAdo-treated cells. However, the activity in the crude extract decreased with rising concentrations of dAdo. On the other hand, the level of 2'-phosphodiesterase, which is also induced by interferon and degrades 2',5'-oligoadenylate, showed no significant change after dAdo treatment. Thus, the crude extract was speculated to contain an inhibitor of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase. Further characterization of the inhibitor revealed that inhibition was not due to dATP accumulation in cells.