RNA-degradation is one of the fundamental mechanisms of
interferon (IFN)-inducible
antiviral response in mammalian cells. This is primarily brought about by the IFN-inducible
2',5'-oligoadenylate (2-5A)-cofactor dependent
ribonuclease L (
RNase L).
RNase L also functions as a tumor suppressor gene in case of
prostate cancer due to its role in apoptosis. We report that
RNase L is induced by stress-inducing agents such as
double-stranded RNA [
poly(I:C)], chemotherapeutic drugs,
hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)),
calcium chloride (CaCl(2)) and
tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) in the human cervical
carcinoma (HeLa) cells. The level of
RNase L was not detected in the untreated cells. Induction of
RNase L by such stress-inducing agents correlated with degradation of cellular
RNA, fragmentation of
chromatin-
DNA and induction of apoptosis. We checked the stress-inducible
transcription factor,
nuclear factor kappa B (
NF-kappaB), which was persistently activated by
cycloheximide but not by other agents after 24 hours indicating no role of NFkappaB in the
RNase L-induction. However, as expected, TNF-induced
NF-kappaB activity was stimulated within 10-30 minutes through degradation of
IkappaB-alpha. Our results strongly suggest that the IFN-inducible
RNase L is induced by a broad range of stress-inducing signals such as
double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) produced during
viral infection, membrane- and osmotic shock caused by CaCl(2) and oxidative stress induced by H(2)O(2),
inflammation stimulated by
TNF-alpha and
chemotherapy. Thus, in addition to its
antiviral function, the IFN-inducible
RNase L may play an important role during stress-response through RNA-degradation and apoptosis.