translation of thio-mRNA (thioated mRNA)

<x-flowed>Dear Friends,

I have two questions:

1. Oligo RNAs containing phosphorothioate linkage, or thio-RNA, are
widely used in antisense oligo RNA strategy. One major reason is that
thio-RNAs are resistant to RNases.

Does any one know if thio-mRNAs are translatable in vitro in eukaryotic
systems such as wheat germ extract or reticulocyte lysate (or in vivo)?

There are papers reporting the translatability of thio-mRNAs in E. coli
extract (NAR, 19: 547-552, 1991; J. Biotechnol., 34: 61-69, 1994:
efficient translation is reported).

2. Nomenclature of phosphorothioate / phosphothioate.
In literatures and web sites, both phosphorothioate and phosphothioate
can be found. In some papers both words appear in the same paper.

At first, I thought that these discriminate
-O-P(=O)(-S*)-O- [* for a minus charge]
and
-O-P(=S)(-O*)-O-
however, these two could be interchangeable.

OR,... does phosphothioate mean
-O-P(=O)(-O*)-S-
or
-S-P(=O)(-O*)-O-

Thanks for your suggestions.
Satoshi Naito

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Satoshi Naito
Division of Applied Bioscience
Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University
Sapporo 060-8589, JAPAN
Phone: +81-11-706-2800
FAX: +81-11-706-4932
e-mail: [Only registered users see links. ]
[Only registered users see links. ]
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