Effect of protein synthesis inhibitors on viral mRNA's synthesized early in adenovirus type 2 infection.

Viral mRNA species synthesized early in adenovirus type 2 infection in the presence of cycloheximide were compared with those synthesized in the absence of drug or in the presence of the DNA synthesis inhibitor 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine. Cycloheximide caused approximately a 10-fold stimulation in the accumulation of [3H]uridine into early viral mRNA species. The only exception was a 24s mRNA transcribed from the transforming end of the genome; in the presence of cycloheximide, accumulation of this mRNA species was stimulated no more than 2-fold. Treatment with cycloheximide also resulted in the accumulation of polyadenylated RNAs transcribed from EcoRI-C that are heterogeneous and smaller than the 20S mRNA. Other translation inhibitors were shown to have similar effects, suggesting that inhibition of protein synthesis early after infection induces alterations in the metabolism of specific RNA sequences.