Cytosolic RNase inhibitor binds to and neutralizes most members of the pancreatic type
RNase superfamily. However, there are a few exceptions, eg amphibian onconase and
bovine seminal RNase, and these are endowed with cytotoxic activity. Also, RNase variants
created by mutagenesis to partially evade the RNase inhibitor acquire cytotoxic activity.
These findings have led to the proposal that the cytosolic inhibitor acts as a sentry to protect
mammalian cells from foreign RNases. We silenced the expression of the gene encoding …