Pancreatic ribonuclease: enzymic and physiological properties of a cross-linked dimer.

Monomeric ribonuclease A has very low activity toward typically double-stranded RNA's; the dimeric form of ribonuclease A obtained by cross linking the enzyme by dimethyl suberimidate has more than 78 times the activity of the monomer toward polyadenylate . polyuridylate and 440 times the activity of the monomer toward the double-stranded RNA of a virus from Penicillium chrysogenum. The half-life of the dimer in the bloodstream of the rat is 12 times that of the mononmer.