Small nuclear RNA and VA RNA in nuclear ribonucleoprotein fibrils from adenovirus-2 infected HeLa cells

Abstract

The small RNA of hnRNP 1 1 Abbreviations used: hnRNP: ribonucleoprotein containing heterogeneous nuclear RNA, snRNA: small nuclear RNA; VA RNA: virus associated RNA. were studied in HeLa cells infected with adenovirus-2. At 15 h post-infection, when 50–60 % of the hnRNA was of viral origin, all the small nuclear RNA of hnRNP from non-infected cells were present in hnRNP from infected cells. The small, virus-encoded VA RNA could not be detected by staining like the snRNA but only after labeling. It represented less than 1 % of the small nuclear RNA in hnRNP. The low level of VA RNA in hnRNP as compared to that of the small nuclear RNA does not favor the hypothesis of a similar function for these 2 classes of small RNA.