2',5'-Oligoadenylate Synthetase 3 (OAS3)

2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetase 3 is an enzyme included in the 2', 5' oligoadenylate synthase family. This enzyme is induced by interferons and catalyzes the 2', 5' oligomers of adenosine in order to bind and activate RNase L. This enzyme family plays a significant role in the inhibition of cellular protein synthesis and viral infection resistance.

The domains share 44 to 60% protein sequence similarity with each other and 42 to 60% sequence identity with the conserved domain of OAS1. The authors noted that OAS1, OAS2, and OAS3 contain 1, 2, and 3 conserved OAS domains or units, respectively. Northern blot analysis revealed that OAS3 is expressed as a 7-kb interferon-induced mRNA in HeLa cells.