A hybrid protein kinase‐RNase in an interferon‐induced pathway?

The sequence of RNase L has been re-examined by computer analysis. We propose a molecular architecture of RNase L, with an unusual combination, in one protein chain, of 9 ankyrin-like repeats, a functional active protein kinase and a C-terminal catalytic RNase similar to the yeast protein, IRE1. The protein kinase may be involved in a new signal transduction pathway which remains to be discovered.