Description
RNase A, also known as ribonuclease A and RNASE1, belongs to ribonuclease A superfamily. It is a pancreatic-type of secretory ribonuclease. RNase A is a basic protein and its many positive charges are consistent with its binding to RNA (a poly-anion). More generally, RNase A is unusually polar or, rather, unusually lacking in hydrophobic groups, especially aliphatic ones. As an endonuclease, RNase A cleaves internal phosphodiester RNA bonds on the 3'-side of pyrimidine bases. It prefers poly(C) as a substrate and hydrolyzes 2',3'-cyclic nucleotides, with a pH optimum near 8.0. RNase A is monomeric and more commonly acts to degrade ds-RNA over ss-RNA. Alternative splicing occurs at this locus and four transcript variants encoding the same protein have been identified